Doctors seeking payments from patients for free medical services in public health facilities now face the sack.
According to the County Health Executive Elizabeth Ogaja, there are rising concerns of medics who are seeking bribes or sending patients away to buy drugs in private facilities when the drugs are in supplies at their respective county health facilities.
Speaking during a strategic planning meeting for the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga teaching and referral hospital in Kisumu yesterday, Dr Ogaja admitted that they had received numerous complaints and put the officers on a sack notice.
"We are not taking corruption lightly in the health sector because it is a matter of weighing in on life and death. I am aware of the medics in the county who tells patients that the services are free but at the same time asking for money under the table," said Mrs Ogaja.
She added that patients are not expected to buy drugs unless they are suffering from a unique health conditions that requires upto a third line of medicine to be administered.
She has also put on notice medics who steal time from their official time of duty and disappear thereby destabilizing healthcare delivery in their respective facilities.
"Corruption in health sector has evolved. It is across board whether asking for money or stealing drugs or government time. Now we are seeing some medics absconding duty or even appearing for three hours then disappear when they are supposed to work for eight hours. We are moving in to sack such medics," Ms Ogaja said.
She added on to say that they have reported some of the unethical medics to their respective professional bodies and are now taking them as criminals.