Baby bitten by snake stranded in hospital as medics strike continues

A woman was on Wednesday stranded at the Coast General Hospital after she failed to get medical personnel to attend to her 4-year-old son who had been bitten by a snake.

This comes as the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) strike entered its third day on Wednesday, paralyzing health services in all public hospitals in the country.

Emily Atieno, the mother, remained stranded at the hospital for several hours looking for a Good Samaritan after she allegedly failed to raise the Ksh16,000 required to have the baby treated in a private hospital.

The boy was bitten on his right leg as he played outside their home at Mnazi Mmoja area in Nyali Constituency, Mombasa County.

Elsewhere, A 1-month-old baby died at the Migori Level Four hospital after failing to receive treatment from the striking medics.

The baby died despite being in an incubator on life support.

According to the mother, the baby failed to get assistance following the ongoing doctors and nurses’ strike, resulting in her untimely death.

“She had been in life support since Monday, and shifting to a private hospital after the medics pronounced their strike was not easy,” said the distraught mother.

The infant is among seven more placed on life support in the hospital.

Meanwhile, a 1-year-old baby boy was burnt to death on Thursday morning in his grandmother’s house at Kilo area, Nyalenda village in Kisumu County.

The boy reportedly fell asleep and hit a lamp that was burning near his bed, setting his bedding on fire.

The mother told Citizen Digital that she did not hear the child’s screams as she had stepped out to run some errands.

Daniel Korir, George Juma, Atieno Mboya and Eddy Ashioya contributed to this story