OPINION: Desperate State Of Cancer Patients A National Shame

The pain and agony that these cancer patients are going through, including a casual worker, cited in one of the dailies and whose only hope depends on the functioning of the two machines at the Kenyatta National Hospital is unprecedented, particularly when the same patients wake up every morning to news on the looted billions from the tax payers coffers by corrupt individuals.

The Central Organisation of Trade Unions, COTU (K) now urges His Excellency the President to personally intervene in this sorry state of affairs at Kenyatta National Hospital, a referral hospital named after his father and Kenya’s founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, lest history will judge our President harshly as a leader who presided over total neglect and eventually collapse of such a monumental institution as KNH.

It is unfortunate and regrettable that the state of the Hospital remains an eyesore to the patients visiting the facility. Lifts are not working and right from the casualty area, it is all filthy with absolute no resemblance of the county’s leading referral hospital.

PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL DOCTOR

Kenya witnessed tremendous improvement in the health sector under the leadership of Hon. Charity Ngilu when she was in charge of the Ministry and COTU (K)  believes the painful face of the poor workers now staring at death due to the breakdown of these machines could not happen if we had a competent health Cabinet Secretary probably with  a professional bias as a medical doctor because the National Hospital Insurance Fund, with an accumulation of over 600 Million shillings annually, would be able to partner with KNH and acquire more machines  for our people.

Equally, the government should be on the front line in reciprocating the efforts being made by our doctors as well as by the First Lady who has contributed immensely to the country’s health sector through her own efforts.

Let the Kenyan government prioritize health matters and proceed to rehabilitate our health facilities and equip hospitals with modern technology.

Most of our health facilities countrywide are in dire need of rehabilitation and equipment are facing serious negligence from the government and let the President create a departure from this trend because the funds are available.

By Benson Okwaro

The writer is the acting Secretary General of COTU