Sh100m set aside for new wing at Molo Sub-County Hospital

Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui  holds a baby when he toured Molo Sub-County Hospital. The county government is building a new ultra-modern outpatient with at the hospital. PHOTO | ERIC MATARA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The hospital serves patients from Molo, Kuresoi, Njoro and parts of Rongai Constituency.
  • The new wing is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year.
  • Naivasha Sub-County Hospital is undergoing a Sh300 million facelift.

The Molo Sub-County Hospital has previously been on the spot for poor services and congestion among other challenges.

This is set to become a thing of the past as the Nakuru County government plans to build a Sh100 million ultra-modern outpatient wing to improve health service delivery.

According to the County Health Executive Gichuki Kariuki, the money has been set aside for the project that will reduce congestion at the hospital.

“In a bid to ensure good health service delivery at the hospital, we are refurbishing the facility and constructing more patient units so that it can sufficiently serve hundreds of patients from Molo and other neighbouring areas,” said Dr Kariuki.

CONGESTION

The hospital serves patients from Molo, Kuresoi, Njoro and parts of Rongai Constituency.

The hospital also caters for injured patients received from the notorious Sobea-Salgaa-Sachangwan-Mau Summit-Makutano accident black spot along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway.

Initially, congestion affected service delivery, forcing most patients, especially accident victims to be referred to the Nakuru Level Five Hospital.

According to the county Health department, the outpatient wing will house dental, optical and dermatology among other critical services.

The modern outpatient area will also be used for providing for diagnostic tests and minor surgical procedures, according to Dr Kariuki.

The new wing is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year.

INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADE

The Health department says plans to put up several other buildings which will offer clinical services and raise the hospital’s capacity to absorb the growing number of patients seeking better healthcare.

The department was allocated Sh6.6 billion in the current financial year from the county’s total budget of Sh21.3 billion.

The county intends to use part of the money in infrastructural upgrade and revamping of various hospitals among them the Molo, Naivasha, Elburgon and Gilgil.

The county government has also embarked on revamping more than 20 health facilities that were built between 2013 and 2017 but have remained abandoned and idle.

Already, the Naivasha Sub-County Hospital is undergoing a Sh300 million facelift.

300 JOBS

At the same time, the health department has advertised for jobs seeking to employ at least 300 health workers, among them 16 specialist doctors.

It intends to spend at least Sh73 million on hiring staff and an additional Sh97 million on staff promotions.

Nakuru has a total of 459 public and private hospitals spread across the county.

The county runs 184 health facilities including dispensaries, health centres, level four hospitals and the Nakuru Level Five Hospital.

The county has only one level five hospital which serves as a referral hospital for more than five counties including Nakuru, Kericho, Baringo, Nyandarua, Samburu and Narok.