Flyover
Days after Kenneth Matiba eye and dental Hospital was opened at Makenji Murang’a South, the residents are now calling on the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) to move with speed and construct an overpass near the hospital to avert possible road accidents.
Left unattended, they say, the status quo is a ticking time bomb as patients must maneuver the busy Kenol Thika highway to access the hospital. Notably many lives have been lost on that very road in the past.
Kenya News Agency caught up with 65 years old John Mwangi on a chilly Wednesday morning trying to maneuver the highway to get to the hospital but he hesitates as cars zoom past in a lightning high speed. “I have a problem with my eyesight and that is why I have come to seek medical attention,” he says.
Unfortunately crossing this busy road is a tall order for me thus I must come to the hospital with my grandson so he can assist me get to the hospital on the other side to avoid being knocked down by cars” he adds “I urge the government to urgently construct a fly over as this hospital has come to benefit us since we were travelling to Thika or even Maragua to seek medical services”
The dental and eye unit hospital was moved from a rented facility in Kenol town and constructed on part of the 1,500 acres of land ceded by Delmonte Fruits processing company and will consequently save the county Sh. 14.4M annually that was previously paid in rent.
Kevin Mwangi a boda boda rider at Makenji opines that a fly over will solve the accessibility nightmare being experienced now before accidents start claiming the lives of innocent patients as they try to reach Kenneth Matiba hospital.
“As a temporary measure, KeNHA can consider erecting bumps or even designating a zebra crossing even though that will be not fully solve the problem as we are currently helping those aged and stranded to cross over to the hospital, but this is not sustainable in the long run” he adds
During the hospital’s opening on Saturday Governor Irungu Kang’ata had revealed that the county administration had written to KenNHA to consider constructing the fly over but they were yet to respond.
Currently the Murang’a Youth service(MYS) recruits are helping the old people cross the road while some of them are strategically 100 metres away flagging off motorists so that they can reduce their speed as they approach the hospital’s area.
Kenneth Matiba hospital has been equipped with an eye and dental unit, an outpatient department, a casualty department, 20 beds capacity male and female wards, a telemedicine room and minor theater rooms and has a capacity to serve 400 patients daily