CORRUPTION :How Graft cartels take control in Siaya hospital

The county government of Siaya has been petitioned to investigate the rise in corruption cartels that are extorting money from unsuspecting patients at the county referral hospital. Rev Kenneth Wachianga of the ACK Maseno West Diocese said that there is a league of clinical officers who solicit and wring money from patients before they can dispense their services to them. Wachianga singled out the X-ray department where he said that patients are asked to part with as much as Sh2,000 to be able to get services. He pointed a recent case where a patient was referred to go for the X-Ray and was then asked to pay Sh2,000 to procure X-ray films or be sent away in default. Wachianga has therefore appealed to the hospital’s medical superintendent and the county director of health Omondi Owino to come to the rescue of the patients because majority cannot afford to part with such sum of money to get treatment in time. The cleric who expressed fear that the same cartel could be the one that has also been stealing and selling government drugs from the stores within the town. “I therefore insist that the matter must be resolved urgently and if possible, a total overhaul of staff be done to save the situation,” said Wachianga. Wachianga’s concerns comes barely two months after the county executive committee member for health Edward Owila issued a warning that any health personnel found stealing or selling government drugs, will face full force of the law.