The Nakuru Level 5 Hospital through the county government has waived unpaid hospital bills amounting to Ksh5 Million.
Governor Susan Kihika said she had met the hospital’s board which after consultations recommended the waiving of accrued bills.
Speaking at the hospital after making a fact-finding tour of various health care facilities within the devolved unit, Kihika directed the Department of Health to release over 64 patients aged between 7 and 80 years who had been discharged but were unable to settle their bills due to financial constraints.
She also ordered that all bodies detained at the mortuary due to pending bills be released to next of kin with immediate effect.
Kihika reiterated her plans to upgrade all sub-county hospitals to level five hospitals with adequate bed capacity in all wards and establishment of maternity facilities by expanding and upgrading existing health facilities and developing new health facilities with maternal services.
She revealed that the County will develop, through public-private initiative, a level 4 hospital in Nakuru to offer dedicated services to all public servants, both county and national, the disciplined forces, provincial administration and community health workers.
Kihika pledged to work with the national government to ensure universal health access through the Nakuru Medicare card and universal access to National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) cover with the aim of eliminating out-of-pocket expenditure for all citizens in Nakuru, as a short-term measure.
She undertook to ensure that all persons aged over 65 years, Persons Living with Disabilities and orphans are registered to ensure free access to health services in public health facilities.
“All health workers, who range from clinical officers to occupational therapists who have been serving on contract, will be employed on permanent and pensionable terms. the County Government will henceforth pay community health volunteers (CHV) a monthly stipend of 5,000 per month with future adjustments upwards guided by resource availability and inflation,”
She pledged to recruit more nurses, clinical officers and doctors to boost health service delivery in the county adding that the health sector is the most vital aspect of life which her administration will give more focus to.
“Additional health workers will be recruited to progressively achieve staffing norms and standards and reduce the service delivery lead time. Healthcare workers due for promotions and re-designation will be promoted and re-designated, and subsequently, adequate budget will be allocated to ensure timely promotions,” stated the Governor.
She assured residents that she will spearhead the establishment of a training fund that will be accessible to all health workers seeking to pursue higher diplomas, degrees, and master’s specialization programs.
She stressed that her first move will be to ensure constant availability of drugs in the county hospitals while at the same time commending healthcare workers for their efforts despite the hurdles they had to face while administering services to patients.
“The county will provide an adequate budget for the procurement of drugs and essential medical supplies. We will prioritize the completion and equipping of all stalled health projects. I want to thank all the healthcare workers who have been working so hard to ensure that our people receive medical attention despite numerous challenges,” she said.
While stating that good health goes hand in hand with food security Ms Kihika revealed that she intends to organize into support groups all patients with non-communicable ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, kidney failure and cancer to enhance service delivery and streamline access to drugs and care.
“All sub-county hospitals will be equipped with dedicated youth-friendly centres and will have palliative care services to ease access to services and drugs. The county will establish an ambulance services unit to streamline and enhance equitable access to ambulatory care across the county and ensure free ambulatory services for maternal and emergency care,” added the governor.
The county is set to develop a robust ICT system to manage patients in health facilities, drugs and essential medical supplies and ensure transparency in resource utilization.
