In summary:
- Kemboi is the indefatigable medic wearing many caps and Single-handedly juggles between being a cleaner, clinician, nurse, labtech, pharmacist, records officer and receptionist.
“Ndio huyo mimi nakuja, mjipange sasa tukuje twende clinic.”
These are the words that nurse Nelly Kemboi says to an expectant woman who called Samuli dispensary for an antenatal clinic visit.
Kemboi keeps her words and soon locks the dispensary and turns on the engine of a mini-ambulance made of a motorbike fitted with a small two-wheeled trailer.
She heads to the patient’s home and brings her to the clinic for weighing, vital signs and abdominal palpation. When she arrives, she meets dozens of clients waiting for her to attend to them. She is their only hope.
The 32 year old is the only staff who oversees everything at the Kajiado East dispensary. She is the indefatigable medic wearing many caps as she is also the cleaner, clinician, ambulance rider, pharmacist, laboratory technician and midwife.
Handles up to 50 clients a day
Kemboi revealed to Citizen TV that she handles up to 50 patients in a day. This means she has to meticulously conduct the triaging in order to prioritize her care.
The dispensary serves a large geographical area with patients drawn from as far as 40 kilometres.
Despite the mountainous task, she has remained resilient and passionate with the work. She explains that she sometimes goes to clients’ homes to pick them then rides them back home after treatment.
“They call me to go for them, now that I know how to ride, I have to go and pick them, then take them back,” she says.
Challenges
Due to the obvious shortage of healthcare workers at Samuli, residents have called on the county government to employ more medics in order to offer better services.
“We ask the county government to employ more doctors. Sometimes, we have sick people but when they visit the dispensary, they can’t get the chance to be treated urgently because there is only a single medic,” said Francis Ole Kedal, a local.
Kemboi might give her all while at work but she reveals that shortage of drugs is the main hurdle to quality treatment.
“I’m handling a very large population. The main challenge is shortage of drugs. Occasionally, we don’t have drugs,” she says.
The poor roads in the region is also another challenge. She revealed to Citizen TV how she was involved in a minor accident when she fell off the motorbike which landed on her left ankle and injured her.
Watch out: WoK is on the mission to celebrate such medics who are doing their best to save lives. We have started a new Facebook page called WoK Health Champions. Kindly visit it and follow us.
