Reprieve
Residents of Molo Sub- County are set to benefit from affordable and high-quality medical care once the County Government completes the construction of the Sh147 million ultra-modern hospital within the next three months.
Chief Officer for Public Health Ms Joyce Ncece, who visited the site for an inspection visit said the facility which is 90 percent complete is expected to be operational within three months. Ms Ncece stated that the facility was part of the County Governments Sh1.5 billion upgrade program of health care facilities across the 11 Sub-counties expected to be completed later this year.
The Chief Officer noted the stand-alone complex will be equipped with a modern maternity and neonatal wing, a pharmacy, x-ray machines and modern laboratories. The facility will house an outpatient complex, accident and emergency unit, an imaging center and theatres among other essential services.
At Sh6 billion, the Health Department in Nakuru got the lion’s share of the Sh15 billion 2024/2025 budget. This translates to nearly 36 per cent of the budget. A chunk of the funds has been allocated to construction of new health infrastructures and procurement of modern medical equipment.
The outpatient wing at the facility, added the Chief Officer, had been designed to offer the highest standard of medical training and top quality of specialized healthcare services.
“We have proposed to equip every Sub- County with modern inpatient and outpatient facilities. The upgrade also incorporates in setting up of trauma centers at the Nakuru Level 5 Teaching and Referral Hospital, at Naivasha and Salgaa to cater for accident victims,” said Ms Ncece
She noted once complete the Hospital will cater for 400,000 residents seeking health care services from the Sub- County and its adjoining Counties of Baringo and Kericho. The Hospital will also cater for injured patients received from the notorious black spots along the Nairobi-Kisumu Highway.
“The facility will have the trauma/accident and emergency, obstetrics, gynecology, ophthalmology, pharmacy, radiology and radiotherapy and minor surgery theatres among other health departments,” observed the Chief Officer Other facilities nearing undergoing construction include the Sh159 million Njoro Sub- County Hospital, the Sh157million Molo Sub- County Hospital and the Sh60 million outpatient complex at Olenguruone Health Center.
The upgrade also incorporates the modern Sh330 million outpatient complex at the Naivasha Sub- County Referral Hospital. The project is a joint-partnership of the County and National Governments and Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen).
She indicated that investment in modern outpatient units across the devolved unit was part of the county’s efforts to revamp the health sector and improve efficiency in emergency response. The County, she said, was keen on decongesting the Nakuru Level 5 Teaching and Referral Hospital by modernizing all Sub- County hospitals.
The Level 5 hospital serves more than eight counties in the South Rift region, including Bomet, Kericho, Samburu, Baringo, Nyandarua and Laikipia where 2,000 patients are treated daily, 750 of them being inpatients. The County runs 184 health facilities, including dispensaries, health centers, level four hospitals and the Nakuru Level Five Hospital.
