Critical services at Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital have been brought to a standstill after Kenya power reportedly disconnected the power supply at the Coast’s largest referral hospital over unpaid power bills.

The facility’s Chief Executive Officer Iqbal Khandwallah confirmed the power cut saying they were forced to put on hold a number of critical services.

According to the CEO, the hospital’s power was disconnected on Tuesday morning prompting the suspension of about 15 scheduled surgeries including major ones like brain surgery, laparoscopic surgery and cancer surgery among others.

“Oxygen supply switched off for a couple of minutes before we switched to generators. At the time there were surgeries going on.
We have 60 babies in the newborn units whose lives are in danger. ICU, maternity, and newborn unit are currently under the generator,” said Khandwallah in an interview with People Daily.

While calling on Kenya Power to reinstate the supply immediately, the CEO said the hospital was staring at a catastrophe.

“I don’t think we have a pending bill that warrants disconnection. In the last month, we paid Sh 18 million and we paid Sh 2 million today,” he said.

The hospital’s morgue has also been affected and bodies have started decomposing.

“Morgue operates under 0⁰ to 5⁰ above that with this Mombasa temperature the bodies will automatically decompose,” a medical engineer at the facility said.

At the laundry section, there was an all-pervading stench as all laundry machines were not functioning meaning that all the theater and ward beddings and clothes remained unattended.

Kenya power Coast Regional manager Hicks Waswa however denied claims that the facility’s power supply had been disconnected.

He instead shifted the blame on the County government accusing it of impounding their vehicles thereby affecting the Kenya power operations in Mombasa.

“We have not disconnected the power. We understand that line had a problem but the problem is the county had impounded our vehicles after we disconnected power to Mombasa county offices due to over Sh 100 million unpaid bills. To address a problem you must visit the site but you can’t move without a vehicle,” said Waswa in an interview with People Daily.

The County Assembly health committee chaired by Bernard Ogutu visited the facility and condemned the incident as inhumane.

“We condemn the act by Kenya power to disconnect power at Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital. They have endangered the lives of patients.
We have tried talking to the regional manager but he is dilly-dallying. The hospital should be the last facility to have been disconnecting,” said Ogutu.

Mjambere MCA Amriya Juma Boi said Kenya power must reinstate power failure to which any life that will be lost as a result of this blackout “we shall hold Kenya power accountable.”

“We are giving a fair warning because we understand that the county has a dept but we all know that the county has not been receiving its equitable revenue share,” said Boi.