Shortage of essential drugs has been cited as one of the major challenges affecting effective delivery of health services in Elgeyo Marakwet County.
The governor Wisley Rotich said while some health facilities don’t get their drugs supply on time, others are supplied drugs that they didn’t order.
“The health facilities order drugs depending on the prevalence of diseases in the area, for instance some will order pneumonia or malaria drugs but instead get drugs they had not ordered for thus they cannot prescribe the drugs required by a patient,” he said.
The governor who was speaking after meeting all heads of health facilities in the county at the Iten KMTC hall said the county will form a team which will be monitoring the availability of required drugs on a daily basis so that they can order early before they run out.
He added that the county will invest in health prevention services by working closely with Community Health Promoters to promote primary health care at the grassroots saying this will help in reducing the budget on curative services.
Rotich continued that shortage of personnel was another challenge facing health facilities and promised to address it progressively as funds are availed.
The governor said the county was planning to establish fully equipped model health facilities in each ward where residents can get quality services and referrals to sub county hospitals.
He added that the county was in the process of making the health facilities autonomous so that they can use the funds they raise to improve services at the local level instead of waiting for allocations from the county headquarters.
The governor added that all medics in charge of the facilities and health committees will be trained so that each can understand their role thus making the facilities functional.
The meeting, the governor said was called to deliberate on the successes and challenges in the health sector for the last one year since he took over. He said such meetings will be held quarterly so that any challenges are addressed as they arise.
By Alice Wanjiru and Jebet Saina
