This photo was taken at 9:30 am Friday 29th March 2019 and still no doctor was in those rooms. "I know even if you work on shifts, there should be no gap in service delivery. So why put that service charter if none can be adhered too?" a Taveta resident asked.
Well, in a country that expects the successful roll-out of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), one would expect that doctors are well-paid, drugs, equipments are sufficient and that the operations at the hospitals run smoothly.
Ours is a strange country.
Staff at the Taveta sub county hospital in Taita Taveta County are accused of coming late to work.
Despite patients arriving early most of them elderly, they are forced to wait for the doctor but some doctors arrive past 10 a.m.
Residents say that this has been the trend in that hospital and most of the patients now prefer to cross over to Tanzania ( into Holili, Himo or Moshi ) to seek treatment.
“The other issue the staff are so corrupt. They ask for 50% of the cost of a service in cash and avoid paying officially (issuing a receipt),” a resident said.
Drugs are not available at the hospital too.