Susan Kihika blames Sh100m SHA debt for Naivasha hospital crisis

The Social Health Authority (SHA) owes the Naivasha Level IV hospital Sh100 million.

The debt has led to the current crisis of drug shortage, congestion and inadequate meals for patients.

The situation has further been worsened by another debt of Sh76 million that the defunct NHIF owed to that facility, which also serves tens of patients from neighbouring counties of Nyandarua, Kiambu and Narok.

The revelation comes a couple of weeks after area residents held a peaceful demonstration over the deteriorating status of the hospital in the last one year.

According to Nakuru governor Susan Kihika, SHA owed the facility Sh102m that had been unremitted since last year, adversely affecting operations.

Kihika admitted that the facility was facing challenges, noting that the accruing debts have strained services, though the county was addressing them.

“The Social Health Authority owes Naivasha Level Four Hospital Sh102m and this has taken a toll on this facility,” she said.

The governor was speaking at the AIPCA church in Naivasha where she clashed with Senator Tabitha Karanja over service delivery and the issuance of handouts by her regime.

Mrs Karanja, however, lashed out at the county government over the continued suffering of residents despite the billions of shillings the county was receiving each year.

She noted that health centres, including Naivasha Level Four hospital, were on their knees due to a lack of critical medical supplies.