Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha on Monday 06th February 2023 toured Chuka County Referral Hospital to assess its readiness towards an upgrade to a level 5 facility.
The CS who was accompanied by Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki among other key health stakeholders noted that she was in the county on a working tour, following directives by the President William Ruto to check on the hospital’s preparedness for an upgrade.
According to Nakhumicha, a number of areas that needed improvement include availability of MRI equipment in the hospital and working ICU and HDU facilities which had already been allocated space in the hospital.
“My tour today was to check on the preparedness and if indeed the facility met the requirements of a level 5 hospital. There are a number of areas that need improvement, and we are going to work together with the county government to ensure we bring up this facility to required level”, she said.
During the visit, the CS brought attention to a malfunctioned CT scan equipment in the facility, where she hit out at unresponsive machine vendors in the country.
“Such machines are on placement, you cannot have a machine here informing people of the availability of CT scan services, yet they can't have their scans done. Whoever the vendor is, know you are on notice and if your contract comes to and end then you will have trouble explaining why we have to renew it. You have to make the machine work”, she added.
Adding to the list of directives, the Health CS announced that the national government had taken over the construction of KMTC Chuka, to ensure it is complete and operational.
According to the Ministry of Health, the government has set aside KShs 105 million for the completion and equipping of the facility, to provide essential medical training to health professionals in the region.
The decision will see KMTC students who have been domiciled at Chuka University since the inception of the college in 2014 relocate to the new site once complete.
In a press briefing during the tour, Governor Muthomi Njuki noted gaps in health facilities around counties due to limited human resource, proposing that counties adapt the Facility Improvement Fund that would see revenue generated from health facilities re-deployed back to the facilities.
“Our biggest problem has been resources. We have trained doctors who have no jobs while medical facilities lack resources. If the Facility Improvement Fund is made operational, all counties will be able to employ more doctors”, he said.
The Ministry of Health donated a vehicle to the satellite blood transfusion unit at Chuka County Referral Hospital to aid the movement of staff and transportation of blood to storage facilities in Embu and Meru.
The CS also visited Marimanti Level 4 Hospitaol, where she assessed facilities and pledged to support the hospital with equipment such as CT scan to ensure improvement of services.
PHOTO/MOH
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