Kenyatta National Hospital voted best in provision of maternal health services
Jane Kabo (left) and Beatrice Nkoroi from Aga Khan University Hospital with the award won by the hospital's maternity unit at the Reef Hotel in Mombasa. Kenyatta National Hospital was awarded top honours in providing the best maternal and neonatal health services. PHOTO | REBECCA OKWANY | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Coast General Hospital took the crown for the best maternity facility among level five hospitals.
- Violet Wafula who is also a nursing officer at CPGH and NNAK secretary, attributed the good performance of the hospital to the dedication by nurses.
- Mombasa Hospital emerged tops among level four maternity hospitals.
- The award ceremony was sponsored by Amref Health Africa, Chase Bank, Johnson and Johnson, Baby Love network and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) has been awarded top honours in providing the best maternal and neonatal health services.
The maternity unit of the hospital, was on Thursday evening honoured during Maternity Unit of the Year Award ceremony organised by the National Nurses Association of Kenya (NNAK), midwives and partners at the Reef Hotel in Mombasa.
Coast General Hospital took the crown for the best maternity facility among level five hospitals whereas Mombasa Hospital emerged tops among level four maternity hospitals.
The Aga Khan University Hospital maternity unit was the finest overall under the private hospitals category.
During the ceremony, assessors said the KNH maternity and new born unit was fully equipped, well managed and conducive for mothers and their babies.
According to Ms Margaret Njoroge, a midwifery trainer from the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) who assessed KNH maternity unit, the hospital took adequate measures when free maternity services were introduced in order to cope with the expected increase in deliveries in the hospital.
KNH deployed more nurses in order to cope with the expected increase in workload.
NNAK midwives chairperson Louisa Muteti who assessed Coast General Hospital, praised the facility for ensuring the privacy of mothers and their new-borns in the wards.
MORE PRIVACY FOR MOTHERS
“What impressed us with CPGH maternity unit is that it has more privacy.
“Mothers are in their own cubicles where they can freely interact with their spouses. They were not in a common place.
“We also liked the fact that just outside the unit there were baby items being sold and this makes things easy for a mother in an emergency birth situation,” said Ms Muteti.
She said CPGH, defeated other six facilities countrywide which participated including Kakamega who were the first runners up, Nakuru and Meru among others.
She added that the Coast referral hospital equally scored well in other areas of assessment despite needing additional equipment and additional midwives in the unit.
Violet Wafula who is also a nursing officer at CPGH and NNAK secretary, attributed the good performance of the hospital to the dedication by nurses.
She however appealed to the county government to assist them, stressing that they need more midwives to assist them in reducing the patient to nurse ratio.
Other winners were St Mary’s Mission Hospital Kakamega for the best maternity unit in the faith-based category and Elwesero for the best maternity unit in the health centres category.
The award ceremony was sponsored by Amref Health Africa, Chase Bank, Johnson and Johnson, Baby Love network and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
