The county government of Kisumu has been faulted for charging patients seeking services at level 1, 2 and 3 Health Facilities.
A study carried out by Community Initiative Action Group (CIAG) and the Open Institute revealed that 35% of patients who visited the low-level facilities, which are free of charge were not being issued with receipts despite being illegally charged.
CIAG Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chris Owalla said the county government was losing millions of shillings through the scam, with the monies collected from the facilities within the eight sub counties being unaccounted for.
“To have patients pay for a service that is free and fail to issue receipts amounts to corruption,” he said.
The study further revealed that 60% of patients were dissatisfied by the services across all the health facilities in the area.
They cited lack of medicine across all the facilities and long waiting hours while seeking treatment.
Most of the facilities, according to the study, were facing a shortage of doctors and nurses adversely affecting service delivery.
National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) cards, he said, were not acceptable in some of the facilities while where acceptable, patients were still forced to dig deep into their pockets to purchase medicine outside the facilities.
Medical equipment, he added, was also a challenge with some of the hospitals lacking basic equipment and x-ray machines.
Owalla attributed the shortfalls to poor health financing which has made it difficult for the facilities to offer quality services.
CIAG, he said has filed a petition at the County Assembly of Kisumu and to the County Executive Committee of Health to compel them to allocate enough funds to the sector in the 2024-2025 financial year budget.
“Health is right enshrined in the constitution therefore the county government must ensure that the sector is properly funded for the wellbeing of all Kisumu residents,” he said.
Other recommendations include employment of additional health workers to reduce the time wasted queuing at health facilities.
The consortium, he said, will continue to push for reforms in the sector, adding that another survey has been scheduled to hear from the health service providers.
By Chris Mahandara
