Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

For Jacinta Wanjiku, an expectant mother from Igegania village in Gatundu North, Igegania Level Four is the facility from which she has been delivering all her babies.

Wanjiku who delivers her children through Caesarian Section is however at crossroads on where to deliver her child from as services at the public facility have been grounded following the ongoing countrywide doctors’ strike.

While her due date was on March 29, Wanjiku is worried of her safety and that of her unborn child as she is yet to be attended.

Wanjiku, accompanied by her sister Jane Mumbi, visited the level four facility yesterday, where she has been attending her clinics hoping to get help but was shocked to find that no medic was around to attend to her.

Private facility

She revealed that she hails from a poor background and has no money or the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) cover to enable her to seek services in a private health facility.

“I had placed my hopes on the Linda Mama programme to safely deliver my child. I am worried because there are no doctors to operate on me and yet I’m already due for delivery. I am financially strained and cannot cater for the services at a private facility,” a visibly worried Wanjiku said.

With her life and that of her unborn child in line, Wanjiku said that she will scout for a medical facility that offers CS services at lower costs in Thika.

“A neighbor has advised me to seek the services at a private hospital in Thika. I will visit the facility even though I don’t have the money that might be required,” she said.

Her sister, Mumbi, said that her family is currently at crossroads adding that the doctors’ strike has proven to be too costly to poor sick Kenyans.

“We’ve never witnessed such a crisis where there are no services being rendered at Igegania hospital. We are suffering and most patients are staring at death due to lack of medical services,” Mumbi said.

Over-the-counter drugs

For Mary Wanjiku, a resident from Kamwangi village, she has been forced to rely on cheap over-the-counter drugs to take care of her ailing elderly mother.

She said that for the past two weeks, they have not accessed medical care at the public facility adding that they have no money to take her to a private facility. The elderly woman has been frequenting the hospital hoping to find doctors at work but unsuccessfully.

Wanjiku called on President William Ruto to break his silence over the crisis and intervene to restore sanity in the health sector.

“We woke up very early to elect our leaders yet they are silent as we suffer due to the strike. It’s high time the government heeds to the doctors’ demands so that they can resume their jobs. Most of us cannot afford the costly medical services in private hospitals,” Wanjiku said.

Kimani Gachihi, an administrator at the hospital noted that both outpatient and inpatient services have been ground-halted adding that clinics for diabetes, hypertension, eye among others have been stopped.

Kimani revealed that the facility services about 500 patients on a daily basis adding that the current crisis has left thousands of Gatundu North residents who rely on the hospital suffering.

“We are pleading with the relevant authorities including the Council of Governors (CoG) and the presidency to sit with the doctors’ union and solve the impasse for normalcy to be restored. Our people are suffering,” Kimani said.

Some of the issues that the doctors want addressed by the government are the posting of interns and their salaries, implementation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and counties to harmonize their pay.