Kisumu County government will recruit more doctors and nurses in an exercise that will cost Sh2.4 billion.
The County Executive for Health Elizabeth Ogaja on Tuesday said the funds, to be released by the county government, would go into the recruitment of additional doctors, clinical officers and nurses.
“We have been faced with a big problem of doctors’ shortage in our health facilities, something that has greatly affected service delivery,” said Dr Ogaja.
Also to be recruited are midwives and other junior officers who will serve at mid-level health institutions in the county.
The County’s plan comes in the wake of a massive doctors’ and nurses resignation from public hospitals in Western Kenya due to delayed pay and poor working conditions.
So far, main referral hospitals in Vihiga, Bungoma and Kakamega are the most affected with some of the hospitals resorting to hire the doctors who resigned as consultants.
In Kisumu’s Jaramogi Oginga Odinga referral hospital, two senior doctors resigned last month citing deplorable working conditions and interference from the county government.
Dr Ogaja said that the recruitment exercise will begin immediately the necessary consultations and laid out procedures have been considered.
“We will announce the vacancies officially once we have identified the most needy hospitals that need urgent redress,” she said.
The county currently has 3 district hospitals, 6 sub-district and 96 dispensaries.
Similarly, the money will also be used in renovating health facilities in the county, most of which are in poor conditions as well as improving the efficiency of service delivery.
The county government has also allocated Sh600 million for the health sector in the next financial year starting July 2014.
The county government has dispatched drugs worth Sh35 million to hospitals and health institutions in the county.
“This is our first initiative as a county to purchase drugs since the devolution of health services,”Dr Ogaja?
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