Makueni nurses decry low numbers of staff

Makueni, Saturday, May 13, 2023

KNA by Samson Makau/Lavender Mutuku

Nurses at the Makueni County Referral Hospital have urged the County Government of Makueni, to employ more nurses in a bid ease their burden they are experiencing, while offering services at the health facility.

Speaking to KNA at the Hospital, Friday, the Nurse-In-Charge, Loise Nzilani, lamented that two nurses were attending to 50 patients in a ward as a result, impacts negatively in offering services.

“In a ward, the ratio of nurses is 2:50. We are also expected to attend Clinical Officer interns at the health facility. This overburdens us in offering quality services to wananchi. The government should employ more nurses to alleviate the burden we are experiencing,” she said.

At the same time, she said that lack of drugs was also another challenge they face while offering services to patients at the hospital and urged the government to ensure the medicine is availed.

“It is the work of nurses to ensure patients are taken care- of at the health facility. The hospital lacks drugs and it becomes very disappointing when patients go home without medicine. I urge the government to ensure the hospital has drugs,” she posed.

In another development, Nzilani disclosed that they have trained nurses on palliative care, how to handle emergencies and also pregnant mothers during child delivery at the hospital, as a way of equipping them with skills to offer better services.

Consequently, Nzilani said that this was a way of Celebrating International Week of Nurses which started on 8th to 12th May.

“To mark the International Week of Nurses this year, we have been training the nurses on palliative care skills, to enable them handle people with cancer, and heart diseases as well as handle mothers during child delivery and emergencies that may occur,” she added.

Also during the interview, Nzilani disclosed that many patients were experiencing difficulties in paying hospital bills and urged them to either have the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), besides the Makueni Care Insurance that they acquire by paying Sh 1,000. Per year.

Courtesy; K.N.A