Kiambu County residents are calling on the county government to stock the county referral hospital in Thika Town with drugs to improve provision of health services before expanding the facility.
A section of the residents say that lack of drugs and better health services are major setbacks they have to grapple with on visiting the institution.
“The county government should be realistic enough and offer better healthcare before any expansion of the facility,” complained Isaac Muhia, one of the area residents.
This comes after the county government set aside Sh100 million to be used for expansion of the hospital in Thika.
The funds, according to the county government, will be used to upgrade wards, an operation theatre and an administration block that are in deplorable conditions.
Muhia said the 20 million shillings already released by the county government for the exercise should be used to buy more drugs. He added that they were purchasing drugs expensively from private hospitals.
“The hospital is serving a big number of patients in the county and therefore more drugs should be bought. We are being referred to private chemists by the doctors,” said another resident, Lucy Nyokabi.
Governor William Kabogo recently said he was not happy with the way medical staff at various hospitals were discharging their duties. He warned that he could not tolerate incompetency and corruption at the health facilities.
“I have received numerous complaints from the public over alleged incompetence by medical staff at our county health facilities. They should change or I take stern action against them,” he warned as he was launching a maternity wing at Thika Level Five Hospital.