The government has installed a CT scan at Murang’a County Referral Hospital.
Medical superintendent Leornard Gikera said the equipment will be ready for operations in a week’s time.
The scan will relieve patients who have had to travel to hospitals in Thika and Nairobi for services.
A CT scan is used for detecting and monitoring complex diseases such as cancer and heart disease. It is used to locate tumors and blood clots as well as muscle and bone disorders.
Health services are devolved function but the national government has been supporting counties under the universal healthcare programme.
Gikera said the CT scan is a game changer in services provided at the hospital. He said the equipment has been undergoing safety tests by an application specialist.
The doctor was giving a progress report to the County Development Implementation and Coordination Committee.
He said the scan is versatile and expected to give high quality pictures greatly improving services at the facility.
Currently the hospital refers at least five patients for CT scan daily.
NHIF pays for its members' CT scan costs, ranging between Sh5, 000 and Sh7, 500.
Gikera said that the facility has been well constructed to prevent radiation from being transmitted outside the special room. A double wall has been put in place as well as lead doors.
He said the hospital will improve on its treatment capacity so that patients diagnosed by the equipment are treated at the facility without being referred elsewhere.
He the hospital needs an intensive care unit to end referrals to bigger hospitals.
Other equipment donated to Murang’a County Referral Hospital through the Managed Equipment Services include dialysis machines, radiology equipment, operating theatre machines and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment.
