Governor Barasa pledges to expand all Kakamega level 4 hospitals

The county government of Kakamega is set to expand all Level IV health facilities in the region to enhance health care for residents.

Among the first facilities targeted in the programme are the Mumias, Iguhu, Navakholo and Malava level IV hospitals.

Malava hospital is the second largest health facility in the region after the Kakamega Teaching and Referral hospital.

Among other things, to qualify for level 4, a hospital should be built on at least ten acres of land or 5,000 square metres.

It should have a 500-bed capacity with ICU and HDU having 12 beds each and should equally possess an inpatient and outpatient pharmacy, burns unit and staff quarters for at least eight persons on duty among others.

It must also have a functional mortuary and a fully functional laboratory section.

However, the majority of the level 4 hospitals in Kakamega County have not met a majority of these requirements.

Speaking when he launched and inspected drugs and non-pharms at Iguhu, Malava and Navakholo hospitals on Friday, Kakamega governor Fernandes Barasa acknowledged that the health facilities lack most of the requisite departments.

“We shall have all these missing pieces fitted so that these hospitals can be empowered to function effectively in their capacity as level 4 hospitals. We are directing a lot of resources into making that happen,” said Barasa.

The governor reiterated that his administration shall prioritize the development of health infrastructure and address staffing challenges in those facilities to ensure they conform to the required standards.

“In a few years’ time, we want all these facilities to reflect their name both in name, infrastructure and staffing,” he added.

During the launch, Malava, Iguhu and Navakholo hospitals received drugs valued at Sh 12.7 Million, Sh. 9 Million and Sh 7.6 Million respectively.

The governor took the moment to mention that the process of elevating Malava town to a Municipality is on course and hinted at plans to facelift the urban centre.

Barasa who is also the Chairperson of the Finance and Economic Affairs Committee at the Council of Governors (CoG) also took a swipe at the Treasury on the equitable share stalemate asking the National Government to stop interfering with the functions of the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA).

“They should just allow the CRA to function independently and stop telling them what to do,” added Barasa.