The usually busy Siaya County Referral Hospital is operating with a greatly reduced workforce, leaving only a small number of patients within the facility as students on attachment and internship help attend to those still receiving care.
The situation follows the continued absence of nurses and other essential health workers, including pharmacists and laboratory technicians.
According to Dr Caleb Otieno, the shortage has significantly affected operations in the hospital, with several wards recording very few patients and limited services.
Students undertaking attachment and internship programmes have been assisting with the available workload.
Their presence, however, has not been enough to restore normal hospital operations, particularly for patients requiring specialized or intensive care.
Some patients with serious or complicated illnesses are reportedly being referred to hospitals in Kisumu and other facilities because the hospital currently cannot guarantee the level of care required for such cases.
The reduced workforce has also left medical staff concentrating on patients who were already admitted before the disruption.
Dr Otieno noted that helping these patients through their treatment and discharge remains a demanding and time-consuming responsibility for the few workers who remain.
The situation has created an unusual scene at the referral hospital, with wards that would normally have considerable activity appearing largely quiet and only a few patients being attended to.
The shortage is linked to an ongoing dispute involving health workers in Siaya, Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) Siaya branch secretary Kennedy Hamisi said some nurses have not received their salaries for three months and also raised concerns about the functioning of their medical cover.
For patients and their families, the situation means that accessing treatment may involve travelling to facilities outside Siaya, particularly when specialized attention is required.
As the situation continues, the pressure on the remaining healthcare workers is growing. They are expected to care for patients already in the hospital while managing referrals and other essential duties with fewer personnel.
The hospital’s current situation highlights the importance of having adequate healthcare workers available, particularly at a referral facility serving patients from across the county.
For now, the quiet wards at Siaya County Referral Hospital stand in sharp contrast to the facility’s usual activity, as patients, students and the remaining healthcare workers navigate a strained health system.
