End health equipment saga - Daily Nation

Acting National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani has hit the nail on the head on the controversial Sh38 billion medical equipment leased for the counties. Ministry of Health officials rushed the procurement and installation of the sophisticated equipment in some public hospitals. The intention was, of course, noble, as most public hospitals lack the modern machines needed for highly specialised medical treatment.

The only problem, however, is that the counties were not ready for the equipment and still lack the capacity to make good use of them. As the Council of Governors has lamented, they were not even involved in making such a costly decision that directly affects them. It’s a shame that machines acquired at such a huge cost are lying idle and risk ending up disused.

Public procurement is an area where corruption is rampant. Therefore, we cannot rule out the possibility of this deal having been motivated less by the need to deliver equipment to help save lives and more by selfish gain. One of the international suppliers has already disputed the cost disclosed by the ministry officials.

However, as the Senate investigation into the Managed Equipment Services (MES) programme continues, the challenge now is how to get some value out of an apparently bungled scheme. The Health ministry must liaise with the county authorities to carry out an assessment of the current state of the equipment — including high-end machines for dialysis, intensive care units, theatre and X-rays. Secondly, there is a need to quickly identify, train and deploy staff to make good use of the equipment.

It is imperative that the ministry takes charge of the operation and maintenance of the machines, even though healthcare is devolved. After all, most of the counties lack the capacity to do it.