Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi has directed an audit be conducted on the county’s workforce in all county health facilities.

Wamatangi laments that his administration has been spending an unrealistic over KSh4 billion annually in salaries, with this comprehensive audit being part of his reforms in the health sector.

The governor has tasked newly appointed hospital boards in all the 123 health facilities in collaboration with the county public service department to review each facility’s payroll through, among other things, a physical headcount of all healthcare workers and supportive staff.

According to Wamatangi, the devolved unit incurs KSh7.2 billion annually to cater for salaries and wages of approximately 6,000 workers, and KSh4.1 billion, which is about 57 percent, goes to the department of health.

Wamatangi said his directive was as a result of an outcome of a physical headcount at Karuri Level Four Hospital in Kiambaa, where while the Department of Health pays 103 documented persons allegedly working in the facility, a headcount by the public service department only found 70 workers.

In his remarks, Kiambu Level 5 Hospital Board member Josphat Waiti Ndung’u says they have found the hospital without wheelchairs, noting that over 50 wheelchairs were brought to sustain the hospital both in wards and in casualty sections. Waiti said having the Board in place to all facilities will enhance medical service and transparency.