Access to emergency medical care is becoming harder in many counties as broken-down ambulances, delayed payments and poor planning continue to cripple lifesaving services, senators have warned. The lawmakers said the growing crisis is forcing patients to seek alternative transport during medical emergencies, exposing thousands of Kenyans to avoidable risks.
The concerns were raised in the Senate as members called for urgent action to restore ambulance services, saying the state of emergency response in several counties had reached worrying levels.
Nominated Senator Tabitha Mutinda, who sits on the Senate Health Committee, said inspections conducted by the committee had exposed major gaps in ambulance operations, with many vehicles either grounded or operating in poor condition.
“It is a shame that a vehicle that is supposed to offer emergency services to citizens is in poor condition,” Mutinda, whose committee has been inquiring into the state of ambulance services across the counties, told the Senate.
She said the committee had already completed oversight visits in nearly 60 per cent of the counties and the findings pointed to serious weaknesses in emergency healthcare services.
“We have conducted oversight as the Committee on Health by visiting most of the counties. We have carried out inspections, including of ambulances,” she said.
The committee has so far visited hospitals in Wajir, Mandera, Kakamega, Garissa, Vihiga, Makueni, Kitui and Machakos as part of the exercise.
Mutinda urged county governments to treat healthcare as a priority and ensure recommendations made by the Senate Health Committee are implemented instead of being ignored.
“I urge governors to stop taking issues of hospitals lightly. At the same time, I urge colleague senators, especially the 47 elected ones, that when we table reports of the Committee on Health in this House with recommendations, you should continue following them up,” she said.
Marsabit Senator Mohamed Chute said his county was among those struggling with a shortage of working ambulances despite covering a vast area where residents depend heavily on emergency transport.
According to Chute, several ambulances have broken down, affecting patient referrals, emergency response, maternal healthcare and the movement of critically ill patients to hospitals.
“Residents are consequently compelled to rely on unsuitable private means of transport, resulting in delays in accessing critical medical care,” Chute said.
He asked the Senate Health Committee to disclose the number of ambulances available in Marsabit, how many are operational, the reasons behind those that are out of service and plans to restore them.
The senator also sought answers on what is being done to guarantee residents in every sub-county, including Illeret in North Horr Constituency, have access to ambulance services after years of waiting.
Narok Senator Ledama Olekina said delayed payments by county governments had also contributed to the crisis, particularly affecting the Kenya Red Cross Society, which has been supporting ambulance services across the country.
“The Kenya Red Cross Society has been offering ambulance services to all 47 counties. The problem is that our counties do not pay KRCS when bills are due,” Senator Olekina said.
He said unpaid bills had seen some counties lose ambulance support altogether.
“That is why, if you go to my county of Narok, there are no ambulances because KRCS is not being paid,” he said.
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale warned that the lack of emergency transport was deepening healthcare challenges in remote counties, with expectant mothers among those facing the greatest danger.
He pointed to Marsabit, saying the county continued to record a high number of maternal deaths because many women could not reach health facilities in time.
“In Marsabit, the record is that for every 100,000 women who give birth, between 850 and 1,200 lose their lives,” Khalwale said.
He warned that the situation could become worse if emergency transport remains unavailable.
“Given the distances in Marsabit, without an ambulance, this number can easily double,” he said.
Khalwale also questioned the classification of some hospitals in Marsabit, saying they had been upgraded to level 4 facilities despite lacking doctors needed to offer the required services.
“There is a level 4 hospital in Sololo and another in Kalachi. Unfortunately, they are level 4 by name because there are no doctors in those hospitals,” he said.
He urged Health CS Aden Duale to ensure health facilities only receive higher classifications after meeting the required standards.
“A level 4 hospital is supposed to provide both medical and surgical services. Clinical officers are not trained to perform surgery,” he said.
The senator also criticised the Social Health Authority, saying ongoing problems within the programme had made healthcare more difficult to access in many parts of the country.
“The SHA has failed,” Khalwale said, adding that concerns raised earlier about the programme were aimed at improving government services.
The lawmakers called for immediate investment in ambulance purchase, maintenance, staffing, fuel and emergency referral systems, saying reliable ambulance services are essential to saving lives and improving access to healthcare across all counties.