By Arnold Ageta
Nyamira Governor, Amos Nyaribo has launched a state of the art accident and emergency ward at the Nyamira Referral Hospital to handle emergency medical cases.
The long awaited facility, one of its kind in the region, will offer critical services to hundreds of patients who seek the same within and from the neighboring counties.
Speaking during the launch, Mr. Nyaribo said the hospital had also started offering orthopedic services after his government acquired the necessary equipment and employing specialized medical personnel.
“Patients with fractured limbs can be attended to here at our hospital. There is therefore no need for such patients to seek such service outside as our orthopedics unit is fully operational,” Mr Nyaribo confirmed.
He asked those seeking orthopedic services elsewhere to seek assistant at the hospital because they have the best and fully functional orthopedic department.
The County Executive Member of Health, Dr. Timothy Ombati said the facility will accommodate 15 beds with modern accident and emergency equipment.
‘‘This will be a 14-bed ward but we have nine beds at the moment. We will get 5 more beds for the ward,’’ he noted.
Dr. Ombati further noted that in modernizing the hospital, they are implementing a phased out approach to revamp every department in the hospital.
‘‘We have already done the casualty department and are gradually moving to other departments so that before the end of the year, we would have done all the works according to the standards you envision and directed us to achieve,” he confirmed to the governor.
The governor plunged the attendees into laughter when he cited death and paying taxes as the only two mandatory responsibilities in the world.
‘‘I also ask people to pay taxes to help improve the lives of the people of Nyamira. There are two things that are mandatory in this world: death and paying taxes,’’ he said.
This facility, according to the governor, will be modernized and equipped with state of the art equipment by the end of two years.
The new unit in this hospital has been realized courtesy of the Nyamira County Facility Improvement Fund Act, 2022 which was approved and passed by the county assembly.
The fund was established to provide financial resources to complement medical supplies, rehabilitation and equipment of hospitals in the county and also support capacity building in management of hospitals.
The Act allows the hospitals to retain 85 per cent of their collected revenue to be utilized for operations and maintenance, procurement of additional health commodities and products, offset costs on wages of temporary staff, security and sanitation and all connected purposes.
The other 12 per cent of the collections is remitted to the respective sub county medical officers of health accounts to support primary healthcare while 3 percent shall be retained for administrative costs at the county level.
Nyamira County Referral Hospital’s medical superintendent, Dr. Jared Oeba appreciated the support they received from the county assembly.
‘‘We would like to thank the county assembly specifically for the approval and passing the Facility Improvement Fund (FIF) Act. It is thorough this Act that we have been able to collect, budget and plan for all revenues that we raise in this facility,’’ he disclosed.
Dr. Oeba noted that the opening of the new unit in the hospital is a very critical ingredient in the provision of quality medical services. He said they are feel very happy and elated that they have climbed a step higher to become a comprehensive health facility.
‘‘This unit has a provision for doctors’ lounge, where our staff will be relaxing in within breaks when they are not attending to patients,’’ he explained.
Emphasizing on this, the county assembly deputy speaker, Thaddeus Nyabaro, asked Dr. Ombati to provide refreshments for the night shift medial staff.
‘‘Use Facility Improvement Fund to provide tea for the night shift medical staff as they attend to the patients. Our medical staff need to be motivated and it is entirely your sole responsibility because you know and understand your staff,’’ Nyabaro advised.
The Leader of Majority, Elijah Osiemo, joined others to congratulate the department of health for their efforts to make the hospital offer quality services to the public.
‘‘This department consumes 30 percent of our county’s total budget and you have surely convinced us on why we should continue supporting you. Remember that to ’whom much is given, much is expected,’’ Osiemo confirmed.
In his address, the chief officer in charge of medical services, Mr. Anthony Ongeri acknowledged the dedication of the medical staff and the governor’s passion towards the department.
‘‘We acknowledge your support and the passion you have towards this department. I also want to appreciate the health department team. This is a very dedicated team that always goes out of their way to make sure that they deliver good services even with limited resources,’’ he said.
His counterpart, Chief Officer in charge of Primary Health Care, Dr. Moenga Momanyi thanked the governor for the support towards opening of the new unit.
‘‘As a team from the Health department, we are greatly indebted for the support you are giving the department to ensure the people of Nyamira are getting the rightly deserved services,’’ he told the governor.
Dr. Oeba said the aim of the new ward is to hold 80 to 90 per cent of the traffic of patients from within Nyamira County to the neighboring county facilities.
The governor in his speech confirmed that the kitchen department works are on and the mortuary department will start soon.
The CEC Health Services, Dr. Ombati confirmed that the county will be hosting World Malaria Day national event later this month.
‘‘Through these strategies that you have laid down, we have been honored to hold the World Malaria Day for the country in Nyamira on April 25th, 2023,’’ he explained to the governor.
Nyaribo said that the new unit will help save lives of those who need urgent medical services.
‘‘One reason why people die is because they delay getting attended to in hospitals. Now it is possible to be attended to promptly before the ward is ready the reason we are all here to officially launch the accident and emergency ward,’’ the governor concluded.
He said, ‘’Because we need motivated staff, I ask you, Dr. Oeba (medial superintendent) to come to me directly on issues that Dr. Ombati (CEC Health Services) is unable to address.’’
Most of the residents who attended the event have expressed their satisfaction with the new developments in the health sector within the county.
The new accident and emergency ward come as a relief to many who have a tendency of seeking critical health care services out of the county.
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