Plans to reduce traffic at the Nakuru County Referral and Teaching Hospital which serves people from six counties are underway with the construction of another state-of-the-art referral hospital in Njoro Sub-County.
The County Government of Nakuru has started the construction of a Sh175 million Njoro Sub-County referral hospital which is scheduled for completion in the next 40 weeks.
County Executive Committee Member for Health, Gichuki Kariuki said besides decongesting the former Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital, the upcoming hospital would improve medical service delivery in the region.
“With the growing population in the county, there is need to reduce congestion at the Nakuru Level Five Hospital which also handles referral cases from other counties," he said.
The former Provincial hospital located in Nakuru town treats cases from Samburu, Laikipia, Baringo, Kericho, Nyandarua and some parts of Bomet and Narok counties.
The hospital which has a 750 bed-capacity served more than 2,000 people daily.
The new facility is set to have an outpatient department, X-ray department, an emergency unit, theaters, a maternity wing, a pharmacy, inpatient facilities and modern laboratories.
“The proposed facility will offer the highest standard of medical training and quality of specialised healthcare services,” said Kariuki who was speaking during the ground breaking ceremony at Njoro town.
He said the county administration would provide necessary staff for the hospital to start operation soon after completion.
The CEC said most health problems in the county are related to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cancer.
Njoro sub-county Health Board chairperson, Stephen Karanja said the project would bring quality services closer to residents in the area.
He noted that for the longest time, locals seeking medical services were forced to move to the Nakuru Level Five hospital for referrals, saying the construction will bring an end to that.
