Hospital managers order patients with unpaid bills locked in wards as strike continues

Fourteen patients have been locked up inside hospital wards at Kabarnet County Hospital.

The nine women and five men, who said they had not received treatment since doctors and nurses began their strike on Monday, claimed the hospital administration had left firm instructions that they should not be allowed to leave.

"Security officers are under strict instructions not to allow us to leave the wards until hospital bills are cleared. It is painful that they have decided to lock us in without drugs for two days," said 86-year-old Tungo Kipkerio.

Relatives were desperately buying them painkillers from nearby clinics.

Ms Kipkerio, a resident of Marigat, broke her hip two weeks ago and was admitted in the hospital.

Since the strike began, the elderly woman said her relatives had been unable to clear a medical bill of Sh40,000 or transfer her to a private health facility.

"People who were admitted on the same day as me have been moved to private facilities in Nakuru. For two days, nobody has dressed the wound and I am surviving on painkillers only," she said.

Chepurai Lomotepa, a Koloa resident whose legs are heavily bandaged following an infection, has been in the hospital for two months now. Her her left knee has been operated on four times.

Unlike other patients, she has not been visited by any relatives - she was brought in by a good Samaritan.

She too, cannot leave before clearing her bill.

"This woman has really suffered; she has gone through hell and back. She was depending on doctors and nurses for assistance and the strike has really hit her hard," said Chebintany Margoko, another patient.

Ms Margoko, from Illchamus in Baringo South constituency, is nursing a fractured hip.

Morgue attendants said one patient died on Monday. Margoko said more lives would be lost unless the stalemate between healthcare workers and the Government was resolved.