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Issah Kassim, 51, vividly recalls the harrowing ordeal during his nine-month admission at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital (CGTRH) following a road accident near Changamwe.

Now reliant on crutches due to a severe fracture in his right leg, the Jomvu resident shares his distressing experience with the hospital’s drug shortages, a reality he says turned purchasing medicine from private pharmacies into a daily routine.

“I bought virtually everything, from painkillers to even bandages to dress my wound,” Kassim laments, adding that whenever his brothers went to the hospital pharmacy for the prescribed drugs, they were told to buy them from private chemists outside.

Flourishing neighbours
His frustration echoes that of many patients at the region’s largest referral hospital, where drug shortages have alarmingly been the norm.

Bakari Baraka, a 27-year-old father from Kisauni, shares a similar plight. Recently, when he took his twin daughters to an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist at the hospital the prescribed wax-removing ear drops were unavailable at the hospital pharmacy.

“They told me to purchase the drops from a private chemist,” he says. “It’s puzzling that a referral hospital lacks basic medication like painkillers. Where are we heading?” he wondered.

Against this sorry state of affairs is the development of visibly flourishing businesses in pharmaceuticals where a series of drug stores ae seen to be thriving just next to the hospital’s entrance.

The grim irony is evident. While CGTRH’s drugs shelves often remain empty, private pharmacies just outside the hospital gates are thriving, their businesses booming in plain sight.

Rows of well-stocked pharmacies dot the hospital’s vicinity, raising eyebrows and questions about the glaring discrepancy.

Patients are not the only ones concerned by the trend.

Governor Abdulswamad Nassir himself is also perplexed by the inexplicable trend. Recently he expressed outrage over the situation, attributing the shortages to corruption and collusion between hospital staff and private pharmacies.

Going digital
Earlier this week, the governor vowed to crack down on the malpractice. “Patients are being forced to buy medicine from these pharmacies. It’s criminal,” Nassir declared, warning that they would not renew the licences of any pharmacy operating near public hospitals.

The governor’s statements came during induction training for 2,500 Community Health Promoters (CHPs). Nassir revealed that inspections at both CGTRH and Likoni hospitals found drugs in storage cabinets, even as patients were directed to private chemists to buy the same medications.

“I visited CGTRH and counted almost ten pharmacies just outside its gates. Their businesses are thriving because of this scheme,” he charged.

To combat the issue, the county is leveraging digital systems to track hospital drug inventories and hold those responsible accountable.

In his efforts to reform the county’s healthcare system, Nassir also highlighted ongoing initiatives to expand access to affordable medical services. Last year, CGTRH and other county facilities handled 1.6 million patients, but only 264,000 were registered with the Social Health Authority (SHA).

Nassir also announced plans to train the newly-inducted CHPs to register more residents under SHA, ensuring access to free or subsidised treatment and medication at Levels Two and Three facilities.

“For Levels Four and Five, patients will pay a small fee, but means testing will be conducted to determine their ability to pay,” he explained.

The governor also revealed that despite purchasing drugs worth Sh153 million, the funds often go unutilised due to systemic inefficiencies. “Taxpayers deserve better. It is unacceptable that drugs purchased with public funds are not reaching those in need,” he lamented.

As patients like Kassim and Baraka continue to navigate the challenges of seeking care, it remains to be seen whether Governor Nassir’s promises will trigger systemic change. But for now, the flourishing pharmacies outside CGTRH remain a stark reminder of the broken system within.