Relief for Kieni residents as county builds Sh340m hospital
The site where a new level four hospital is being built in Kieni, Nyeri County at a cost of Sh340 million. Once complete, the hospital will help meet a growing demand for health services in the constituency. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The three-storeyed hospital will have a bed capacity of 175 patients.
- For years, residents of Kieni have complained of lack of a good health facility.
- Kieni Constituency accounts for 52 percent of the population of Nyeri County.
A new dawn is beckoning for residents of Kieni in Nyeri as the county government starts building a Sh340 million level four hospital in a bid to meet a growing demand for health services in the constituency.
The three-storeyed hospital with a bed capacity of 175 patients will host key departments including general outpatient, casualty, pharmacy, laboratory, maternal and child unit, maternity, inpatient wards and two theatres.
The new health facility is an upgrade of the Naromoru Hospital which receives 460 patients in a day with 60 babies being delivered every month.
COMPLAINTS
For years, residents of Kieni have complained of lack of a good health facility, forcing them to travel for more than 58 kilometres in search of medical services mainly at the Nyeri County Referral Hospital.
Governor Mutahi Kahiga echoed their sentiments saying that lack of a hospital in the area has made it difficult for the residents to access optimal healthcare especially for people requiring surgical interventions.
“The prevailing situation leaves the residents of Kieni feeling marginalised and discriminated thus the need for us to start the hospital,” he said while laying a foundation stone of the hospital.
POPULATION
Kieni Constituency accounts for 52 percent of the population of Nyeri County.
The hospital in Naromoru will be the first to be built by the county government.
It will come in handy for road crash victims on the busy highway.
ROAD CRASHES
Currently, those injured in crashes have to be moved over long distances either to Nyeri Referral Hospital or to Nanyuki.
The arid and semi-arid constituency has several dispensaries which are sparsely located and lack basic amenities, forcing a surge in the number of people reporting to the county referral hospital.
Kieni residents are ranked third in the list of patients visiting the outpatient department of the referral hospital according to data from the Nyeri Health department.
“The 51-kilometre road is a busy highway that is prone to numerous accidents thus the hospital will come in handy,” noted Governor Kahiga.
The new hospital in Kieni will be completed in the next 20 months.
