Nurses association raises alarm over shortage of facilities for critically ill Covid-19 patients

Kenya Progressive Nurses Association members led by their Chair Michael Nyongesa addressing the press at Kakamega on October 22, 2020. They raised concerns about the rising Covid-19 cases in the country. [Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]

A nurses’ association has criticised county governments for neglecting healthcare workers plight in the wake of a recent surge of Covid-19 cases in the country.

Kenya Progressive Nurses Association's chair Michael Nyongesa, while speaking to KTN News on Thursday, noted that several counties lacked critical care facilities for critically ill Covid-19 patients, thus posing a danger to healthcare workers and other patients in hospitals.

“Basic requirements are missing, for instance, there are no facilities set aside for healthcare workers who contract Covid-19, there is no transportation to ferry them from home to work and in some counties, Covid-19 patients are admitted in general wards,” he said.

Mr Nyongesa said the disregard of the general Covid-19 rules had exposed many Kenyans to the virus, insisting that the numbers projected by Health Ministry are not a true reflection of the situation on the ground.

“The numbers indicated are far below the positive cases reported across different healthcare facilities,” he claimed, adding the situation was overwhelming to the doctors and nurses.

The chair said Kenyans had disregarded Covid-19 regulations, a case in point, at funerals where no social distance is observed and people don’t wear face masks.

“We are staring at a bigger crisis, we are literally going down the stream by our own deliberate refusal to adhere to preventive protocols,” he said.

Mr Nyongesa also hit out at political leaders blaming them for the second wave of coronavirus being experienced in the country.

As of Wednesday, the country’s caseload stood at 46,144 with the death toll at 858.

Yesterday, the Health Ministry revealed that there were 27 patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 27 on ventilators and 41 on supplementary oxygen.

A total of 1,189 are currently admitted in various health facilities and 2,661 are on Home Based Isolation and Care.

There have been reports that Covid-19 cases are increasing at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH).

A doctor at the facility told The Standard that the second-largest referral facility in the country, which is also a coronavirus testing centre, was overwhelmed by cases in the last two weeks.

There have been reports of persons developing breathing difficulties at home, only to test positive for Covid-19.