Kenya is staring at a crisis in the treatment of patients with severe cases of Covid-19 due to the shortage of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds.
Medics are now warning that the situation could be exacerbated by the government’s decision to lift some of the restrictions that had been in place to contain the spread of the pandemic in the country.
Although the Ministry of Health remained silent on the issue, sources told People Daily that all hospitals in Nairobi, both public and private have run out of beds in their ICU units.
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Most of the facilities are apparently either turning away patients required to be admitted in ICUs or accommodating them in High Dependency Units (HDUs). Almost 80 per cent of the country’s 247 ICU beds are in Nairobi.
Hospitals within Nairobi County with the high bed capacity include; Kenyatta National Hospital at 55, Nairobi West Hospital-17, Kenyatta University Hospital-44, Nairobi Hospital-16 and Aga Khan Hospital with 11 ICU, Karen Hospital with seven beds respectively.
Moi Teaching Referral Hospital has 20 beds while the Coast General Teaching Referral hospital in Mombasa County has 12 beds. Murang’a governor Mwangi wa Iria recently inaugurated a 35 bed capacity ICU facility in his region.
On Monday, KNH’s head of Infectious Diseases Unit Dr Loise Ombajo told a local TV station that ICU beds at the facility were fully occupied.
“ICU beds at KNH are full as of now. However, it is important to note that Covid-19 has not replaced other diseases.
We still need ICU bed capacity for patients with other diseases,” she said during an interview with Citizen TV’s Trevor Ombija.
Embu county yesterday received 65 beds worth Sh3.4 million from Family Bank, Embu Branch.
The beds includes 14 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds and 51 for Covid 19 isolation beds which will be distributed in all the five sub counties. Speaking while receiving the beds Embu Governor Martin Wambora said the donation from the bank will complement the 18 ICU beds and 208 isolation beds in various Embu health facilities adding that an additional consignment of 196 isolation beds will be delivered next week.
