The Parliamentary Health Committee has pledged to support Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) in addressing funding shortages, staff deficits and infrastructure needs that continue to affect the delivery of specialised healthcare services.
The Lawmakers have promised urgent financial intervention for Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) as the newly elevated Level 6A national facility struggles under a crippling Sh209.7 million budget shortfall and a severe staffing crisis.
During an oversight inspection to review budget implementation for the 2025/26 and 2026/27 financial years, the National Assembly Health Committee found a hospital stretched to its limits. Despite needing Sh2.1 billion for payroll, JOOTRH remains severely underfunded, leaving it short of 623 workers a massive 35 per cent deficit in its workforce.
The shortage has hit ward operations hard. Committee members heard that in critical units, as few as three nurses are forced to care for 26 patients simultaneously half the recommended nursing strength for a regional referral center.
Acting CEO Dr. Joshua Clinton Okise and Board Chair Dr. Onudi Olang’o urged MPs to approve a supplementary budget request, which includes Sh400 million to recruit specialists and convert temporary roles into permanent positions.
”The hospital has expanded since its elevation, but funding and staffing have simply not kept pace,” noted Kisumu Central MP Joshua Oron, pointing out that JOOTRH still relies heavily on secondments from the county government to keep its doors open.
The session was chaired by Hon. Julius Sunkuli on behalf of Dr James Nyikal. Sunkuli acknowledged the efforts made by the hospital to deliver services despite the challenges and called on the national government to provide adequate funding to enable it to operate at its intended capacity.
The committee also turned its focus to cash flow bottlenecks caused by delayed reimbursements from the Social Health Authority (SHA). MPs demanded a full audit of approved, rejected, and pending Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) claims to assess how payment delays are affecting the hospital’s ability to stock essential medicines and equipments.
In an appeal to the lawmakers, Dr Okise urged the committee to support and approve the hospital’s supplementary budget request, saying the additional funding would help bridge the staffing gap and improve the availability of specialised medical services.
He said the hospital needed adequate financial support to recruit more healthcare workers and strengthen its capacity to meet the growing demand for treatment.
The supplementary allocation, hospital management indicated, would be an important step towards addressing the resource constraints facing the institution.
The committee also examined the nurse to patient ratio, with hospital management outlining the pressure facing nurses as they attend to patients with limited staffing levels.JOOTRH has 377 nurses employed on its regular workforce and an additional 67 working on a locum basis. However, members were told that only three nurses often attend to about 26 patients, compared with a recommended six nurses.
The situation raised concerns about the workload facing the available nurses and the need to recruit more personnel to strengthen service delivery.
The staffing shortage is particularly significant for a referral hospital expected to provide specialised treatment and receive patients from different parts of the region.
Members of the committee said adequate staffing was necessary to ensure the hospital could meet its obligations without placing excessive pressure on existing healthcare workers.
Praising staff for keeping the facility running despite the strain, Sunkuli assured management that the committee would push the national government for adequate funding commensurate with JOOTRH’s upgraded national referral status.
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