Health ought not to have been devolved

The situation in most referral hospitals is not so pleasant ever since the health sector was devolved.

Health is such a crucial sector that should have been left in the hands of the central government and not the counties.

We can't play trial and error with the lives of innocent Kenyans just like that. In some of the better off referral or county hospitals, there are wrangles over payment, leadership and deployment of medical specialists.

This is quite a risky affair as far as the lives of people are concerned.

How on earth can patients sleep on floors just to make a point yet they should be having nurses to constantly look after them?

Apart from the state of affairs at most of the county referral hospitals, some of them are ill-equipped in terms of trained staff, thus straining the few available staff.

We have had situations where some have protested, like the Bungoma one, where the nurses and staff have constantly complained of the poor working conditions and pay.

Many are times when Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka has had to sweet talk them to go back to work as the situation is looked into.

Nandi County had to dismiss 44 nurses for taking part in a strike and disobeying a court order to call off their strike.

At some point, Vihiga County health workers, too, went on strike citing delayed payments as their major reason. Kakamega and Kisumu county workers have twice gone on strike with the health workers, demanding the return of all health functions to the national government.

The Government ought not to have devolved the health sector, yet it was always better under the national government than what it currently is.

People's lives are not worth gambling with.