• Health department to get the lion's share of the county's budget next financial year.
• Mama Lucy to be the first county facility with an ICU.
Image: Ezekiel Aming'a
Nairobi's top public hospitals are to be renovated in City Hall's bid to overhaul the structure and management of the health facilities.
Targeted for the facelift are Mbagathi, Pumwani Maternity, Mutuini and Mama Lucy hospitals.
Nairobi Health executive Mohammed Dagane said most of the jobs will be undertaken in the next financial year when the health department will get Sh7.4 billion, the lion's share of the county's budget.
"The allocation speaks for itself and shows how prominent healthcare is. The county government will ensure our hospitals have better services," Dagane said.
He told the Star on Tuesday that Governor Mike Sonko is determined to improve services.
Mama Lucy Hospital
The county will spend Sh150 million to complete and equip a 66-bed block at Mama Lucy Hospital.
Last year, Sonko revived the construction of the hospital's Sh1.1 billion block that had stalled for more than two years.
The construction of the H-shape six-floor building started in 2013 but stalled in 2016 due to underfunding.
Phase one of the project was 85 per cent complete. It cost Sh69 million out of the budgeted Sh141 million.
Health chief officer Washington Makodingo said the 66-bed block will have general wards, a maternity wing, an Intensive Care Unit and High Dependency Unit.
"We are in the procurement process to furnish the ICU and hopefully by the end of next month, the block will be complete and ready for launch," he said.
None of the top four county hospitals has an ICU.
"There would be a crisis if the ICU at Kenyatta Hospital gets full. This is what we want to change, "Makodingo said.
Mama Lucy, which located on Kangundo Road in Eastlands, serves low-income earners from Kayole, Mukuru slums, Dandora, Kariobangi and Korogocho slums.
Image: COURTESY
Mbagathi
The county intends to upgrade Mbagathi to level 5 hospital.
"It will be a referral hospital where people can get access to treatment, in and outpatient services and consultation," Dagane said.
A level 5 hospital is a regional centre which provides specialised care, including intensive care, life support and specialist consultations.
In the supplementary budget passed last month, the county assembly allocated Sh20 million to the facility for works.
"Last year in March, the 40-bed maternity wing had minor cracks which had been marked by our engineers for rectification but should not stop the public from seeking services," the health executive said.
The block was, however, abandoned.
"The upgrade has already started and soon, patients will receive quality and timely medical assistance," Dagane said.
The cracks have been fixed and the installation of electric cables and painting of the maternity wing have started. The maternity block will be completed by July.
Roads within the facility have been upgraded.
"A level 5 hospital is expensive to maintain but the funds, in next financial year, will ensure proper services are offered," Dagane said and disclosed that Sh265 million will be spent on the facility.
Mutuini
The county government plans to use Sh80 million to upgrade Mutuini County Hospital in Dagoretti from a 12-bed to a 100-bed facility.
"The facility has not been built to accommodate a large number of patients," Dagane said.
Currently, it offers family planning, home-based care and inpatient care.
In 2014, it was disclosed that Sh200 million was required to convert Mutuini District Hospital to a 24-hour facility.
Dagoretti has 80 health facilities and only Mutuini and Waithaka Health Centre are public.
The two cannot handle all the critical areas such as maternal and child health.
Upgrading the facility will decongest Mbagathi Hospital, Dagane said.
Image: COURTESY
Pumwani
Following the scandalous discovery of 12 bodies of infants at Pumwani Maternity last September, the facility has had a major transformation.
Now it has a fully equipped cold room, a new oxygen plant, a modern surgical unit for deliveries and extra delivery wards.
Makodingo said the facility will begin to offer outpatient services.
The facility offers free maternity services but not postnatal and prenatal care.
"We want to start such services," he said.
(Edited by R.Wamochie)