Participants at a forum in Taita Taveta residents said the Voi District Hospital should be elevated to a referral hospital to cater for the emergency cases following accidents on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.

Mwandawiro Mwasambo said there was need for medical services in the county to be improved.

He was speaking during a presentation during the county consultative forum at Wundanyi town on the second Medium Term Plan of Vision 2030.

Most cases are referred to the Coast General Hospital in Mombasa, which the residents is far and incur a lot of travel costs.

Mwasambo told the forum chaired by Immigration PS Emmanuel Kisombe that the hospital is not well-equipped.

"The hospital being along the highway, handles many accident cases but its sad that it is not well equipped," he said.

Another participant, Mustafa Parkwalo said that the hospitals mortuary does not have the capacity to even store more than ten bodies.

"There is need to improve the facility and also ensure that it has enough staff to handle the many cases reported.This is the only way to ensure quality health care services," he said.

Last week, a Councillor from the region lamented that many patients were suffering at the hospital which he said is understaffed and most of its equipments have broken down since they are too old.

Maktau ward Councillor Flumence Mshila told the Star that he had taken a victim of human wildlife conflict at the facility but the services were not forth coming.

"Its sad that the man who was injured by a buffalo needed proper attention but he endured a lot of suffering due to laxity by the staff at the hospital," he said.

The Councillor said that during accidents, the doctors at the hospital are usually overwhelmed since they are few.

"I was shocked to be told that the patient will not undergo an ex-ray due to lack of the x-ray films at the hospital.This is something that should not be heard of in a vital facility like this that handles many emergency cases due to its proximity to the highway," lamented the Councillor.

Mshila called on the Medical Services minister to visit the hospital and see for himself the state of the facility.

"We wonder if our government is concerned on its peoples health if the services are poor," he said.

For a long time Voi residents have raised alarm over the poor services at the facility.