A doctors’ union hit out at Nairobi governor Mike Sonko on Tuesday for “politicising” the Pumwani Maternity Hospital management.
Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) chairman Samuel Oroko said the two doctors suspended at the hospital over babies’ deaths should be reinstated immediately.
“The doctors should be reinstated or we call for a national strike. We advise the governor to do things better than the way he was doing. If there is a problem, we have a board to address the issue,” he said.
Oroko added that 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 one hour. There is no ambulance to refer mothers anywhere,” he said.
On Monday, the governor suspended the hospital’s superintendent Catherine Mutinda following the death of 12 babies in unclear circumstances. Sonko rode to the hospital on a motorbike for an impromptu visit.
The claim is that the babies died after machines in the sterile services department failed.
Also suspended were Dr James Kamau – the obstetrician gynaecologist, and the hospital’s administrator Zadock Angahya. The entire board of the facility was also dissolved hours after Sonko unearthed an attempt to cover up the deaths.
The governor said he was briefed that an unknown person had switched off a generator serving the maternity wing resulting to the fatalities. The situation reportedly crippled operations at the central sterile services department (CSSD).
Sonko, in a statement, said the matter was reported to the Pangani police station for further investigations.