Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Secretary Alex Thuranira has accused Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko of politicising the death of infants at Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi.
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko on Monday 17th September made an impromptu visit at the maternity hospital where he discovered 12 corpses of infants put in boxes.
The governor claimed he made the surprise visit after receiving reports that the hospital management had shut down machines at the maternity wing leading to loss of lives of young ones.
Samuel Oroko, the chairman of Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union has asked the governor to immediately reinstate the two doctors who were suspended after the incident.
He said Sonko should have handled the matter in a better way by involving the existing structures for handling any grievances that arise from the medics’ work.
“If there is a problem, we have a board to address the issue,” he told journalists at Pumwani hospital.
Oroko said the “board will not allow Sonko to walk around and sack people”.
“Pumwani has only one operating theatre. How can more than 50 mothers be served when an operation takes an hour. There is no ambulance to refer mothers anywhere.” Explained the doctor.
Another KMPDU official Dr. Thuranira said the Pumwani Maternity Hospital is facing serious crisis, which he partly blamed the Nairobi County Government.
Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV, Dr. Thuranira said Pumwani should not be run by the county office with a governor who is politicising everything calling it unfortunate.
According to the KMPDU secretary, the Pumwani Maternity Hospital is major health facility that should be operated by the national government and not county administration.
The governor said he was briefed that an unknown person had switched off a generator serving the maternity wing resulting to the fatalities.
The power cut reportedly crippled operations at the central sterile services department (CSSD). The DPP and DCI have taken up the investigations.
