Residents of Narok county have decried the withdrawal of ambulance services in the county lamenting the move had compromised delivery of health services.

The residents regretted the increase in deaths occasioned by lack of ambulances to rush the sick to proper health facilities.

Mosiro Ward Member of County Assembly (MCA) Michael Ololegesho revealed that the county uses approximately Sh8.2 million every month to pay for the ambulance services, yet there were no such services offered to the residents.

‘In total, we have lost Sh41 million since the ambulance services were withdrawn. This is regrettable because the residents are not getting value for their money,’ he said.

While commending the County Government for leading in its own revenue collection after the devolved unit was ranked among the first in revenue collection, Olelegesho called on the governor to ensure people got value for the money.

‘We have been trending on social media platforms because we managed to collect approximately Sh4.5 billion re
venue in the last financial year. This is commendable, but let the money be used to improve people’s livelihoods,’ said the MCA.

Narok East Sub County Inter-denominational chairman Reverend Stephen Ole Punyua said the withdrawal of ambulance services had spiked suffering and desperation among the residents as they were forced to use private vehicles to take the sick to the hospital.

‘The private vehicles are very expensive to hire and they do not have the first aid equipment. By the time the sick person gets to the hospital, he or she is in a worse condition,’ he regretted.

Punyua said ambulance services should be the first priority in the county government’s development agenda as many accidents occurred along the Maai Mahiu- Narok- Bomet highway, and the fact that Narok county is a vast area with many homesteads being very far from health facilities.

Stanley Langat, a resident of Narok town confessed to having enjoyed the services of the withdrawn ambulance services, recalling how his younger brother was
rushed to hospital after he fell from the top of a tree.

‘The ambulance services were very efficient and effective. They served every person in need despite the background. Many people were rescued from death,’ he said.

But Narok Governor Patrick Ntutu, while addressing the media personnel said the services had been withdrawn for a short while so as to put better structures on the way they were managed.

He said the current administration intended to reduce the number of ambulances from eleven to six, as the county has majored in building new health facilities at the grassroots.

‘We realized that so much money was getting lost because of the way they were being managed. We promise the residents that soon we will re-launch ambulance services that are better managed,’ he assured.

Source: Kenya News Agency