Patients, medics banked on Equity during pandemic
HEALTH & SCIENCE
ICU manager in PPE during the interview at the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral & Research Hospital on April 9, 2021. [David Gichuru, Standard]
Containing transmission of Covid-19 when an outbreak was reported in Kenya last year was uncertain. Even medics feared contracting the virus.
The government was also thrown into confusion when the surge hit a second wave in June, 2020.
The border town of Busia was in sharp focus, owing to widespread of the virus attributed to traffic snarl-ups of trucks and drivers stuck there, but mingling with locals. Covid 19 Time Series
Any positive Covid case only heightened fear among medics. There were inadequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Francis Amakoye, a retired occupational therapist, who worked at the hospital, said Awino needed to urgently undergo another surgery, but the hospital could not offer the service.
He explained that elderly patients did not visit any other facility for medication, as they believed they would not receive quality care.
Although he retired early this year, Amakoye attends to patients in their homes, giving them advice on how to manage wounds and deformities resulting from leprosy.
He observed that leprosy patients, especially those who had developed disabilities, experienced many challenges.
Although the disease has a cure, Amakoye notes, it can cause adverse reactions to the body.