Kenya’s key hospitals, relied on by millions, are in such dreadful shape that only an urgent review of their operations can start the process of making them fit for the patients streaming in hoping to find a solution to their health challenges.

A new auditor general report paints the picture of a health system teetering on the verge of collapse. It’s a miracle it has not ground to a complete halt.

It’s the type of scenario in which patients walk in hoping to find solutions, yet the institutions are themselves incapable or totally incapacitated.

It's getting pretty clear that the national government must get involved and help counties clear the mess.

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And it does not seem to be a funding problem because the counties have only recently signed a Sh200 billion equipment leasing plan.

But when drugs, doctors and nurses have either not been paid or not hired, a hospital will not deliver to the people who need it most.

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The responsibility of running a hospital system, in our view, is too daunting for politicians to manage.

The Building Bridges Initiative proposed a health commission to handle staffing and compensation matters.

That option must be given serious consideration.

Quote of the day: “We never fail when we try to do our duty, we always fail when we neglect to do it.” —British officer and founder of the modern scouting movement Robert Baden-Powell died on January 8, 1941