Kiambu residents are set to benefit from improved health services after Covid-19, thanks to the improvement of facilities to combat the pandemic.
Kiambu is among the first counties to achieve the 300-bed capacity recommended by the national government for the isolation of Covid-19 patients. It has 325 beds for Covid-19 patients.
This has been achieved by converting Tigoni Hospital in Limuru into an exclusive Covid-19 centre, with 245 beds. Initially, Tigoni had 45 isolation beds, but a new block with 200 beds has been added. Plans to increase beds at the facility to 300 are underway.
People with other ailments are treated in other public health institutions. The county has three level 5 facilities – Thika, Kiambu and Gatundu. There are also 11 level 4 hospitals in the county – Tigoni, Wangige, Rukuma, Ruiru, Igegania, Lari, Thogoto, Limuru, Kikuyu, Githunguri and Bibirioni.
The county government has also expanded the ICU facilities in the three level 5 hospitals – Thika, Kiambu and Gatundu. Gatundu will have 16 beds, Tigoni 14 while Thika and Kiambu will each have 10.
To enhance the capacity of the Intensive Care Units, the county has procured more ventilators and monitors.
Governor James Nyoro said on Monday the county government has cleared debts it owed to contractors and some projects that had stalled had been completed while others are almost complete.
Some health facilities that had stalled include Thogoto, Tigoni, Wangige and Rukuma level 4 hospitals.
“We are determined to ensure that by the time we recover from Covid-19 crisis, Kiambu will have first-class medical facilities that our people can be proud of. This will improve our health, increase productivity and enable our people to create wealth,” Nyoro said.
The governor further noted that all level 4 hospitals have been allocated Sh185 million for rehabilitation of infrastructure and installation of vital amenities.
The county government is also in the process of procuring bulk oxygen. The administration is in talks with suppliers like BOC Kenya Ltd and Hewa Tele to have surplus oxygen installed in Thika, Gatundu and Kiambu level 5 hospitals as well as Tigoni Level 4 Hospital.
This, Governor Nyoro said, will help serve more patients at a go.
The county chief said his administration is also working round-the-clock to ensure the 108 health facilities in the county are well-staffed and stocked with medical supplies.
He said 195 health workers have been hired by the county government. They include doctors, nurses and clinical officers.
The county chief said the county government has also made a request to procure Sh38 million medical supplies from the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority and is still waiting for the Sh138 million supplies the county signed for the Universal Health Care programme.
In October last year, Nyoro said Sh1 billion meant to improve health facilities in the county had been diverted to other projects.
The county chief said the county also failed to remit the conditional grant from the national government, Facility Improvement Funds (FIF) and the National Hospital Insurance Funds to the respective facilities. Instead, the county spent the money on other projects.
This made the county’s health system grapple with a myriad of problems, drugs shortage, understaffing and dilapidated infrastructure that lacked essential amenities such as incinerators, laundry, drying and ironing facilities.
“I promise that we will never again use money meant for our hospitals in other areas as has happened before thereby depriving our health facilitates money meant to support them,” Nyoro said.
He said that the money will be reimbursed in totality to the hospitals from the county government’s exchequer to enhance and ensure continuous services.
“We will repay the money we owe the hospitals even if our budget will have to be constrained. Provision of high class and timely health services will remain our key pillar of development in this county,” Nyoro said.
Edited by A.N
