Residents of Kirinyaga County are excited following the operationalisation of Kerugoya Level 5 Referral Hospital that was commissioned a week ago.
The hospital that was officially opened by President William Ruto has fully opened its doors to the general public, offering an array of specialized services some of which they have always had to seek from outside the county.
The hospital, which is Governor Anne Waiguru’s flagship project, is an accomplishment of the County Government’s development blueprint- The Mountain Cities 2032 which designates Kerugoya Central as the ‘Health and Wellness City’. Governor Waiguru initiated the project with the aim of providing the residents with accessible high quality health services.
The Outpatient Department, the maternity ward; both pre-natal and post-natal, the Newborn unit, all theatres, the gynecological ward, the pharmacy have been relocated to the new complex.
Residents from far and wide have come to the facility to seek treatment and they are all impressed and grateful to the governor.
Leah Mwihaki, a resident from Karumande, said that the facility is running in top gear and the services were being offered in a very efficient and timely manner.
“I came all the way from Karumande to bring my son from school. I am very impressed and even marveleld that a public hospital can have such standards. The fees have not changed despite the standards of the hospital changing and we have gotten all the drugs prescribed to us. I am a happy mother”, said Leah.
Another resident, David Nderi, expressed his optimism with the new complex saying that he was very happy with the services and the way the hospital is being run.
Speaking during the migration from the old to the new facility, Kerugoya Hospital manager, Annette Njeri said that the new complex had been very well received by both the staff and the patients. “We have moved the patients and they are very happy and most cannot even believe that they are in a public hospital. Patients are no longer congested in one ward as each cube has only 6 beds and is self-contained”, said Annette.
Kerugoya Hospital Nursing Manager Nancy Muthike also spoke with a lot of optimism about the new complex saying that the facility has even increased the motivation of the staff.
“The new complex has increased the capacity of the hospital and it is more spacious, meaning that nurses will now be able to tend to patients with ease. We are also grateful for the additional equipment that will make our work easier,” said Nancy.
The five-storey medical complex, is one of its kind not just in Kirinyaga County but in the entire region. It is set to become a game changer in the health sector across the region, with the specialized services that are now being offered in the hospital among them, 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.
The hospital also consists of a 12-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a 12-bed High Dependency Unit (HDU), a 40-crib newborn unit, 4 operation theatres, an oxygen plant with a capacity of producing 450 litres of gas per minute and water heating solar panels for green energy.
