By Tobias Ogutu
When individuals face life-threatening situations, the first place they think of for help is always the hospital. Many in the Luo community regard medical practitioners as gods; hence the common phrase, “Daktari Nyasae Mar Ariyo,” meaning “a doctor is a second god.” However, this phrase is now being challenged, as many medical practitioners have lost their godly status. A person’s health is important, which is why the government maintains public hospitals and strives to ensure that everyone receives treatment regardless of their economic status. Nevertheless, in Kisumu, many public hospitals have their own criteria for treating patients.
At a community Baraza in Nyalenda A, Mama Rosa Nyamang’a recounted how her son died in the waiting bay at Kisumu Sub-county Hospital, commonly known by residents as the “General Hospital.” According to Nyamang’a, her son had a severe headache accompanied by a high fever. She followed all the hospital’s procedures and was told to wait in the bay despite her case being an emergency. When her son began convulsing, she alerted the doctors, but none of them paid attention; she was repeatedly told to wait her turn. This continued until her son passed away while still in the waiting bay.
Nyamang’a’s story is common in this area and many parts of the country, where lives are lost in places people trust to save them. Sadly, those who swear to protect individual lives are becoming reluctant when called upon to fulfill their responsibilities. It is common to find medical practitioners at Kisumu Sub-county Hospital engaged in storytelling while patients wait in the bay.
It is not only at Kisumu Sub-County Hospital where such incidents occur. Consolata Adhiambo recalls how, earlier this year, she nearly lost her life while waiting for a doctor at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH). She was bleeding heavily due to pregnancy complications, but had to wait because the doctor was attending to a patient who had come for a wound dressing.
When alerted to Adhiambo’s condition, the doctor calmly said, “I’m busy with a patient here; she has to wait for me to finish. We operate on a first-come, first-served basis.” Adhiambo recounted how she screamed for help, but her cries failed to attract the doctor’s attention. “Several doctors passed by, telling me I had to wait for the one still attending to a patient.” She added, “In fact, one female nurse openly accused me of trying to terminate the pregnancy and only coming to them when the problem had worsened.” Ultimately, Adhiambo was rushed to a nearby private facility, Avenue Hospital, where she received immediate care and her life was saved.
Adhiambo’s story clearly highlights the differences in the behavior of medical practitioners in public versus private hospitals. The government should recognize that many citizens with emergency medical conditions do not receive the preferential treatment guaranteed to them by the Constitution. Why is it that the same doctor who neglects patients in public hospitals provides attentive care when those patients visit the private hospital they own? It has become evident that our public hospitals are being managed by what can only be described as Angels of Death.
