By Kariuki Mwangi
Nairobi 26th April, 2023: Nairobi City County Government will in May unveil a 28 bed capacity Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Mbagathi District Hospital, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has said.
Speaking this morning at Radio Citizen’s morning Jambo Kenya show, Sakaja said that the county is planning on making the ICU facility which will be the second ICU at a County Hospital following the installation the inaugural County ICU that was done at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital by his administration.
“Over the years, Nairobi County hospitals have not been having an ICU and patients had to Que at Kenyatta National Hospital to seek ICU beds until we installed the very first one at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital which had no such facility since it was built by the Former President Mwai Kibaki administration. Mid next month, we are launching the second ICU at Mbagathi Hospital which will have a 28 bed capacity for our people to access services easily,” Governor Sakaja said.
Enumerating the steps his administration has taken to bolster the healthcare services in the city, Sakaja noted that in the eight months (243 days) that he has been in office, his government has been able to ensure that the common man accesses medical care with ease by having medicine and vital equipment at the local dispensaries to de-congest Mama Lucy Hospital.
The Governor said that he had spoken to President William Ruto to revert the Margaret Kenyatta KNH Annex Hospital in Korogocho in Embakasi North to the County administration, a move that will further provide health care services to the people around the area.
“Margaret Kenyatta hospital has a lot of modern equipment but was built and handed to the national government to become a pediatric hospital. We went there with the President and I asked him to revert it to the county so that with all its facilities, we can make it a fully fledged hospital with doctors and nurses to offer services to the many people around the area. The President was surprised to find a large hospital with modern equipment only serving a handful of people, just about 10, yet healthcare was a major challenge in the city, and especially around the slum area of Korogocho and Kariobangi,” Sakaja said in the interview with Vincent Ateya.
“Health care in Nairobi must work and our people must get the services they deserve. To improve customer service, I also changed the board and the medical superintendent at Mama Lucy Hospital and the same is being done at other level five hospitals as we wait for the facilities to have Chief Executive Officers who will run the facilities professionally,” Sakaja said.
Sakaja also announced that the county government was in the process of changing the name of City Mortuary to Nairobi Funeral Home. This comes after the county administration team, led by Chief Officer Geoffrey Mosiria, installed new coolers at the mortuary to improve services. Sakaja said the there are plans of an expansion of the facility which will have a waiting bay and a chapel.
“We want to ensure that Nairobi has a decent mortuary for our dear departed. I have set up a new board led by Government Pathologist Dr. Johansen Oduor and we are employing other morticians to make sure it becomes a place of choice, clean and affordable,” Sakaja noted.
During the 35 minute interview, which sought to discuss different issues facing Nairobi, Sakaja also said thet a system to track medicine from KEMSA all the way to the end user-patient- had been set up. The 7460 Community Health Volunteers were now getting remunerated by the county.
The Governor noted that his cabinet has already passed a resolution to have a rehabilitation for drug abuse and mental health departments in County health facilities indicating that mental health must be made normal.
At the same time, Sakaja said that his administration had already registered over 6000 hawkers within the Nairobi Central Business District and had started marking their lanes and giving them numbers. These hawkers, who turn up in town everyday will now have areas to operate from majorly along the lanes off Accra Road and Dubois Road.
In regard to the garbage collection menace, the Governor underlined that 3,200 youths will be employed to do clean up exercises continuously. Sakaja said that the stench and congestion at Dandora dump site will soon be a thing of the past as more that 30 mulyi national companies had applied to construct a 45 mega watts power plant at the site using the waste. He called on Dandora residents to have patience as this was been done.
“To my people of Nairobi, we are not sleeping, we have been busy and we will continue to work hard and better the lives of our people so don’t loose heart. Let us all love one another work because we have said that Nairobi has to work and it shall. Lazima iWork!” Sakaja said in his parting shot.
