Medical services at the Transmara West Sub-County Level 4 Hospital have been abruptly suspended following a violent assault on nurses by a group accompanying a patient, leaving the local community without critical healthcare and raising urgent questions about security in the region.
The incident occurred on Tuesday night when a group arrived at the facility with a patient who had sustained serious injuries in a road accident. According to hospital staff who spoke anonymously, medical personnel assessed the patient and recommended a transfer to a mission hospital better equipped to handle the severity of the injuries.
That recommendation reportedly ignited fury among the patient’s companions, triggering a chaotic and physical confrontation within the hospital compound. Several nurses on duty were attacked, beaten, and left with serious bodily injuries, prompting hospital management to immediately close the facility over safety concerns for remaining staff.
By Wednesday morning, the gates of the hospital were locked, leaving dozens of patients stranded outside. Among them was Mary Agnes, a resident of Logorian, who had been referred to the hospital for a scan.
“This is the hospital we depend on. Now it is closed, and we don’t know where to seek help,” Agnes said.
Another patient, who had arrived for an X-ray after breaking his leg, found the hospital non-operational. A distressed parent also voiced their anguish: “I brought my child for treatment and found the hospital closed. I don’t know where else to take my child.”
The attack underscores the perilous conditions healthcare workers sometimes face and has severely disrupted the only major medical facility for many in Transmara West. The closure comes just weeks after Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen declared the region a “security-disturbed” area and deployed additional security personnel.
Local authorities are now facing growing calls to not only restore medical services but to also implement lasting security measures at the hospital to protect both workers and patients.
Hospital management and county health officials have not yet announced a timeline for reopening, leaving an entire community in a dangerous limbo without access to urgent care.
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