NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 7 – Ikolomani MP Boni Khalwale claimed in Parliament that a cartel of senior doctors and staff at Pumwani Maternity Hospital had been facilitating the procurement of shoddy equipment at the hospital resulting in poor service delivery to the women who use the facility.
Dr Khalwale also produced documents showing how nonexistent companies were paid millions of shillings for fictitious services.
The Ikolomani legislator demanded a statement from the Ministry of Local Government saying the issue risked getting out of hand.
“This is a matter of life and death. Women who go to the hospital to deliver end up dying and their children also die,” he claimed.
Dr Khalwale, who raised the matter during the morning session, claimed that the high number of infant and maternal mortalities at the hospital could be attributed to the cartel’s operations.
He argued that the facility recorded more maternal deaths compared to services offered by traditional mid wives at a village level.
“I have documents indicating the gravity of the situation and I don’t mind tabling them so that the matter is taken seriously. We want Kenyan mothers to go to hospital to deliver and go back home with their babies alive,” he argued.
Juja MP William Kabogo also renewed his calls to the Ministry of Medical Services to issue a statement on the unexplained cause of death of five children at the Thika Level Five hospital.
None of the ministers in charge of health were present during the afternoon session and the matter was deferred to Wednesday next week.
Meanwhile, MPs have extended the mandate of the Select Committee on Resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons by three months.
The MPs also passed the National Police Service Commission Bill 2011 and the Kenya Citizens and Foreign Nationals Management Service Bill 2011.
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