Murang’a Woman Representative Sabina Chege has appealed to county governments to support mission hospitals so they can improve services to residents.
She said the hospitals get a big number of patients and are sometimes overwhelmed, thus the need to get support in the form of personnel and drugs.
Chege on Friday said most church-based health facilities charge minimal fees, thus attract many patients. She spoke at Kiriai-ni Mission Hospital at Mathioya.
She presented Sh250,000 ICU drugs. Chege is the chairperson of the National Assembly Health Committee. She praised churches which have continued to complement the government’s efforts to boost healthcare.
For a long time, mission hospitals have been of great benefit to rural families, especially the poor.
"The drugs my office has donated to this hospital will lessen the pain for patients, especially those in the intensive care unit and who cannot foot the huge bills,” she added.
Hospital administrator Charles Okemwa thanked the lawmaker for the support. He said their facilities cannot meet the huge demands for services by patients. Okemwa said some patients are unable to meet their treatment costs and they have had to release them after accumulating huge bills.
"We attend to more than 250 patients per day and we have a bed capacity of more than 150. We appeal to well-wishers to support us in any way they can so that we can continue charging reasonable costs to our patients,” he added.
Chege said her office will partner with health stakeholders and roll out sensitisation forums to help residents minimise the spread of diseases.
“Preventive health is very crucial as it is cheaper than buying machines for treating patients,” she said.