Kwale, KENYA: Kwale County medics have been warned against hiding drugs from patients and making it seem like the county has a shortage of drugs.
Speaking during an induction meeting which brought together county hospital board members in Diani, Msambweni sub-county, Kwale Deputy Governor Fatuma Achani urged hospital board members to ensure that county health facilities have enough drugs for the patients seeking health care services.
Achani said that the county has settled it’s dues with Kenya Medical Supplies Agency KEMSA thus the county hospitals, health centers and dispensaries should not experience drug shortage.
“There has been a public outcry that our hospitals do not have drugs. We do not owe KEMSA a single cent hence we don’t expect our health facilities to run out of drugs,” said Achani.
These comes after several complaints were raised by members of the public who demanded to know why most county hospitals do not have drugs.
In some cases, medical officers were blamed for the shortages and some accused of hiding drugs which they later stock in their private chemists.
“I wonder why sometimes patients are forced to buy drugs from a specific chemist,” said one of Msambweni resident directing the issue to the deputy governor during a public forum at Kombani social hall.
Achani cautioned that corruption cases in the county health facilities won’t be tolerated.
On his part, Kwale county health executive Francis Gwama called for cooperation between his department and the board members to enhance quality health services in the county.
“Serving as a health board member comes with important responsibilities which need to be applied through the most helpful ways,” said Gwama.
