The largest hospital in Kenya and second in East Africa has been one of the worst medical providers in the world especially in taking care of the needs of poor patients. How do I know? I dealt with them when my father was battling kidney disease. Every single day I went in to see my sick father, there were hundreds of patients laying down outside on the patch of grass, others sharing hospital beds, and some laying on the hall ways and corridors. They were either waiting to be admitted to the hospital, or to be discharged but couldn’t pay their medical bills. At this hospital, you have to pay an admission fee to secure a bed even in emergency cases and pay off your medical bill before getting discharged. So those that couldn’t raise the money would linger around in hopes that they would find help from well-wishers. It was horrible, a heartbreaking experience. I had seen similar cases in Uganda, so I know that this is a very common issue not only in Kenya but in African countries as reported in various news outlets.

So when I first heard of the death of baby Travis, I lost it. This kind of medical negligence should not be tolerated ever again. The late baby Travis had suffered one of the rarest form of accidents at home in a very remote village.  A gardening (digging) fork had lodged in his head and he undoubtedly required urgent medical care. The saddest thing was that to get this baby to the nearest medical facility, his uncle had to get him there on a motorbike. Villagers here do not have access to either public transportation or urgent healthcare facilities. The doctor that owns a local dispensary helped rush the victim to the next larger hospital in Thika. The doctors at Thika hospital then immediately referred the family to Kenyatta National Hospital since they claimed to lack the equipment to get the gardening fork out of the baby’s skull. Upon arriving at Kenyatta Hospital, the poor family was asked to pay approximately $200 for admission. They did not have that money and couldn’t raise it soon enough. They were not admitted for emergency surgery. They spent an entire night waiting at the emergency ‘Casualty’ room without any medical attention. The baby succumbed to his injuries the next morning. In Kenya, justice for such innocent victims is rarely served. It is almost unheard of to sue doctors for negligence or malpractice in Africa. Public uproar and media attention put pressure on the government and the hospital for answers.  Poor patients have been sharing their horrific experiences in Kenyan hospitals and how they are neglected for emergency care.