FEATURED STORY

Nurses Buy Hearse in Investment Plan, Spark Controversy

Share
A hearse is commissioned by nurses in Bondo, Siaya County on November 6, 2020
A hearse is commissioned by nurses in Bondo, Siaya County on November 6, 2020
Share

When members of a nurses’ welfare association in Bondo, Siaya County unveiled their new hearse vehicle on Friday, November 6, they likely didn’t expect to find themselves at the centre of a national debate.

Images of the hearse being commissioned by Siaya’s Acting Chief Health Officer Eunice Fwaya quickly went viral.

While a section of Kenyans commended the nurses for making smart investments, others posed moral questions given their position as caregivers.

One of their members, John Ogeya, opposed the move by his colleagues to purchase the Ksh2.8 million hearse.

“This is a step in the wrong direction by the nurses,” he wrote in a county Whatsapp group that has top officials among its members.

Inside a hospital

The fact that the hand-over was attended by Fwaya and photos shared on the county government’s social media accounts was seen as an endorsement of the initiative.

The acting Chief Health Officer, Fwaya, as well as acting Communications Director Auscar Wambiya, however, both came out in defense of the nurses.

READ>>>>>5 reasons why private hospitals hire unqualified nurses

They argued that while the nurses do their best to give the best possible care to patients, there isn’t much they can do once they succumb to illness.

The initiative also comes against the backdrop of documented poor remuneration and working conditions experienced by nurses around the country. The issues have been responsible for numerous strike notices and other industrial action by the nurses’ union.

The lack of health insurance, for instance, has previously led nurses in Siaya County to strike as they are left exposed to diseases as front-line workers.

Dominic Omolo, an official of the Nurses’ Association who also coordinates ambulance services in Siaya, noted that the hearse would help them in burying their colleagues.

He further argued that the acquisition would help members of the public in a county where availability of hearses was an issue.

Omolo observed that they often received requests from people seeking to use hospital ambulances to ferry bodies of their loved ones.

“Hiring a hearse from Kisumu costs at least Sh20,000…I often explain to them that the policy (on use of ambulances for burials) does not allow it, and you can see how dejected they are after that answer,” he stated. 

READ>>>>>International Nurses Day: Nursing as a career in Kenya

Written by
MARTIN SIELE -

Martin K.N Siele is the Content Lead at Business Today. He is also a Quartz contributor and a 2021 Baraza Media Lab-Fringe Graph Data Storytelling Fellow. Passionate about digital media, sports and entertainment, Siele also founded Loud.co.ke

Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow Us

Related Articles
Milka Moraa with Affordable Housing Board officials
FEATURED STORY

Milkah Moraa, Woman Humiliated By City Pastor, To Get Affordable Housing Unit

Milka Moraa Tegisi,  a woman from Mukuru kwa Njenga slums who was...

Kenya Airways repair accreditation
FEATURED STORY

Kenya Airways to Service European Planes After Key Certification

Kenya Airways (KQ) has attained another milestone with the European Union Aviation...

Affordable Housing Project in Bomet
FEATURED STORY

How Affordable Housing Project In My Town Transformed My Life: Beneficiaries Tell Their Stories

The story of John Kipkorir, a 39-year-old renowned welder in Bomet town,...

KCB Platinum Multi-Currency Card
FEATURED STORY

KCB, Mastercard Unveil Kenya’s First Prepaid Card Supporting 11 Currencies

KCB Bank Kenya, in collaboration with Mastercard, has launched Kenya's only multi-currency...