The government has expressed concerns over the neglect of recovered patients at mental health institutions urging families to pick up their loved ones upon completion of medication.
Speaking on Tuesday at Mathare Mental Hospital, Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha revealed that some Kenyans had been notified to pick their recovered kin but declined to do so.
“I want to ask Kenyans whose relatives are in this facility and have been treated and recuperated, to come pick them up. We will try and contact those we can, to come for their patients.”
“There are those who have recovered, and their families have been notified but they have refused to come pick them. That is not good," she said.
The CS attributed the continued stay in the hospital by patients who have recovered to stigmatization by families and communities.
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Nakhumicha appealed even as she announced plans to hire additional personnel to support the national referral facility.
“It has come to my attention that managing queues has been a challenge due to a shortage of health workers,” she added.
The CS stated that the Public Service Commission planned to hire new employees and that openings will be advertised soon.
The Ministry of Health's initiative to hire more employees at the Mathare Mental Hospital is part of a larger effort to fill staffing vacancies in public health facilities.
A day after beginning a statewide health facility census to uncover service delivery deficiencies in the healthcare industry, Nakhumicha announced the decision.
According to her, the census-driven assessment will offer health sector policy development, planning, and programming data.
The exercise, which is anticipated to last two weeks, will also encompass hospitals managed by the counties and ones run by the private sector and places of worship.
“The exercise will serve as a baseline assessment for monitoring and evaluation of investments into the health sector,” Nakhumicha said.
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