The Nakuru Assembly chambers [Photo/Group Kenya]
Nakuru County Assembly has adopted a report to compel the executive to hire more nurses on permanent terms.
The move comes even as hundreds of nurses stayed away from duty in the ongoing countrywide strike that entered its third day on Wednesday.
According to the report, the number of nurses at Nakuru Level Five Hospital has declined by 25 per cent from 450 to 353 since the advent of devolution.
The decline has been attributed to low morale due to pending promotions, delayed salaries, lack of staff development and natural attrition.
“Since 2013 a total of 101 health workers who include medical officers, specialists, nurses and clinical officers have left the referral hospital and have not been replaced,” said the report.
The hardest-hit departments include the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), radiology, orthopaedic, oncology, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, which are operating without specialists as per the health standards.
The hospital, which also serves residents of Baringo, Narok, Nyandarua, Laikipia and Kericho counties, has 40 medical officers and specialists instead of the recommended 110 medical officers as per its size and operations