There is joy and excitement among residents of Kirinyaga as the largest medical facility in the county and the entire region gets set for opening on Tuesday.
Kerugoya Level Five County Referral Hospital, which will be opened by President William Ruto, brings great relief to the residents who will now be able to receive an array of specialized services for which they have always had to seek from facilities outside the county.
The five-storey complex which stands tall in Kerugoya Town was initiated by Governor Anne Waiguru with the aim of providing the county residents with accessible and affordable high quality health services.
It is an accomplishment of the county’s development blueprint- The Mountain Cities 2032 which designates Kirinyaga Central constituency as the ‘Wellness City’.
Irungu Kamau from Kerugoya town, is one of the residents eagerly waiting for the hospital to be opened.
He said that the availability of an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and multiple theaters will improve the provision specialized medical care thus reducing the number of referrals that they have been enduring.
Another resident from Gichugu, Peter Njuki, said that the new hospital is a gift to the county by Governor Waiguru. “We are glad we elected a transformative leader who believes in possibilities beyond the norm. This hospital can only be compared to some of the high-end private hospitals we have in Kenya, yet it will be accessible to us without having to spend a fortune.” He observed.
Emma Karaya who lives near the hospital said that there are many times when patients have had to seek referral services in private hospitals within and outside the county.
She said that the opening of the Level Five Hospital, therefore means that services such as ICU, renal and many more will greatly improve.
Asad Abdalla, Imam of Kerugoya Mosque said that theexcitment facility is one of a kind and the biggest project to have ever been delivered in the county since devolution and will change the county’s medical care capacity.
He noted that the facility has set new standards in healthcare service delivery. “We have not had a public facility with the kind of services that will be offered at the new referral hospital. We didn’t have an ICU in Kerugoya but now we have a fully equipped ICU that will ensure that patients in need of critical care are well attended.” Said the Imam.
In the past few days, the social media has also been buzzing with discussions about the hospital opening. In many of the Kirinyaga based social media platforms, members have been expressing optimism that the facility will be the game changer in the county’s healthcare service delivery.
Many of them concur that infrastructural development play a critical role in provision of effective healthcare services and the improvement of social well-being of any society.
The County Executive Committee Member for Health, George Karoki, said that some of the services that will be offered at the hospital include comprehensive outpatient department services, in-patient services, specialized medical services including pediatrics, ENT, oncology, dermatology, orthopedics, neuro-pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, maternal and neonatal care.
He noted that with an inpatient capacity of 341 beds, the new hospital will ease pressure on Kerugoya Level Four hospital.
He said that the beds in the wards are fitted with oxygen gas that is produced at the hospital’s medical gas plant.
“Availability of a medical gas plant improves our county’s preparedness for any unprecedented high demand for oxygen as the one brought about by Covid-19 sometime back. We are now better prepared to handle patients requiring special treatment since we have a well-equipped ICU”. The CEC said.
He added that the hospital has a fully equipped emergency and crush trauma and casualty wing with 8 observation beds, designated X-ray center and operating theater. He assured the county residents of receiving excellent services at the new hospital.
