NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 10-Senators inspecting health facilities in Busia were left dismayed by the dire condition of the Busia County Referral Hospital, where key medical services have stopped functioning despite millions of shillings having been spent to equip the institution.This was during a joint visit by members of the Senate Health Committee, chaired by Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago, and the County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC), chaired by Homabay Senator Moses Kajwang.Health is a devolved function, but counties have failed to fully deliver on this, leaving the majority of Kenyans suffering under the whims of negligence.Senators heard that dialysis services at the hospital came to a standstill two months ago after a power surge destroyed four dialysis machines and damaged part of the CT scan system.Dialysis Unit The Chief Medical Officer for Health, Wilberforce Lusamba, told the committee that before the power incident, the dialysis unit was fully operational and serving patients from across the county.“The machines were working well until about two months ago when a power surge burned all four of them. We immediately wrote to the county treasury to allow us to do direct procurement, but before we could proceed,”“The national dialysis programme informed us that Busia was in phase two and would receive four new machines. We have been waiting since then,” said the official.However, senators expressed concern that residents in need of urgent dialysis were now forced to travel to other neighboring counties or cross the border into Uganda for treatment.No ambulance servicesThe senators were further disturbed to learn that the hospital has only one functional ambulance, which serves the entire county. Lawmakers said the lack of emergency transport was putting lives at risk, especially in a facility that lacks an operational ICU.“It is shocking that a county referral hospital has only one proper ambulance. What happens when there are multiple emergencies or when patients need referral to Bungoma or Eldoret?” Kajwang’queried.The CPAC Chair accused the county of hiding behind bureaucracy on medical service equipment while lives were at risk.“You are running a county government that collects revenue every day.You cannot overemphasize bureaucracy over the lives of people. Make sure dialysis services resume immediately. We cannot keep spending hundreds of millions on medical equipment only for them to gather dust,” he remarked.Intensive Care UnitThe hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is also not operational, even though the county government spent about Sh5 million on consultancy services for the project.When pressed to explain why the ICU had never opened, the Chief Officer said the hospital lacked an anesthesiologist, a critical specialist required to run the unit.However, senators dismissed the explanation, saying the absence of one doctor could not justify the continued closure of such an important facility.“You cannot tell us you cannot run an ICU because one person left. Recruit another. We cannot sanitize inefficiency,” Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei noted.The senators also raised concerns that the oxygen plant, which was installed during the COVID-19 pandemic, had stopped working after a valve malfunctioned.Senator Kajwang noted that the county was exposing patients to unnecessary suffering, yet they were obligated to provide adequate health services to the populace“This county cannot brag about its health system when even oxygen cannot be produced here.The situation is simply unacceptable,”the Homabay Senator insisted.The Chief Medical Officer said some claims were rejected due to missing documents, but that staff had been given a month to correct and resubmit them.The Senate team also raised alarm over reports that the county health budget had been reduced from Sh358 million to Sh49 million, describing the move as reckless and dangerous.Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah questioned how such a drastic cut could happen when hospitals were already struggling.“The Facility Improvement Fund was meant to strengthen health facilities, not to replace the county’s responsibility to provide health services.Reducing the budget to that level is unacceptable,” Omtatah said.By the end of the inspection, senators concluded that Busia County was facing a serious healthcare crisis and called for urgent intervention to restore services at the hospital.Insufficient drugsSenators heard complaints of residents who have been complaining about the lack of essential drugs, even as several private pharmacies operate right outside the hospital gate.Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna questioned why the county had failed to ensure a steady drug supply, which has offered an opportunity for private pharmacies to thrive.“Right opposite the hospital gate, there are several pharmacies thriving because patients cannot get drugs inside. How do we assure the public that their hospital is functioning?” he asked.The Chief Officer explained that erratic supply from the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) was partly to blame, saying order fulfillment rates sometimes dropped to below 40 per cent.“At times we receive less than 30 per cent of what we order. And even then, the essential drugs we need daily are often missing. Buying from private suppliers is expensive and unsustainable,” he said.He revealed that the hospital currently owes KEMSA about Sh29 million, a reduction from over Sh180 million owed in previous years.The senators further learned that the hospital’s operations were being constrained by delayed reimbursements from the Social Health Authority (SHA). The hospital had submitted claims worth Sh57 million, but only about Sh62 million had been received since the scheme began.In July, the facility received Sh2.7 million against claims worth Sh15 million, while in August it received nothing.“We are unable to sustain operations because our money is tied up in unpaid claims.For the month of August, we received zero. Last month, we only got Sh4 million, which is far below our needs,”the chief medical officer stated.Senator Sifuna demanded answers on why some of the hospital’s claims were being rejected by SHA, especially since the money was meant for a public facility.“We know private hospitals have been flagged for fraudulent claims, but here no one is stealing.Why are you rejecting claims from a county referral hospital?” ,” Sifuna posed.“This is a tragedy of neglect,” Senator Kajwang’ said. “People should not have to cross into Uganda to receive treatment. The county government must act immediately to fix this mess.”