Hospital makes strides in improved infrastructure, equipment

The new 100 body morgue and anatomy laboratory at Kisii Teaching and Referral hospital. [Sammy Omingo/Standard]

The recent elevation of Kisii Hospital to a teaching and referral facility has elicited calls for more funds to improve services.

Both the county and national governments have allocated more resources to ensure the hospital can live up to its new designation.

Early next month President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to open the hospital's new mortuary, which has the capacity to preserve 100 bodies.

The President will also unveil an anatomy laboratory, a clinical waste microwave treatment centre and a three-storey ward for men with 450 beds.

He will also open a doctors’ hostel that can host 50 medics and was built through cost-sharing two years ago. Uhuru will also launch a CT scanner that cost the Government Sh150 million.

“With a 64-slice CT scan machine, we will have images with higher resolution and diagnostic features,” said Enock Ondari, the hospital’s chief executive officer.

The CEO noted that the hospital was a critical component in the county’s quest for better health services.

The push to have the hospital elevated to a teaching and referral centre began in 2014 after the county assembly approved the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital Bill.

This followed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the county government and Kisii University after the finalisation of teaching protocols, including the curriculum.

Governor James Ongwae said his target was to design an innovative hospital model and craft interventions that suited the unique health needs in the region.

In March 2016, the hospital received a new six-bed intensive care unit and a three-bed high dependency unit.

X-ray machines

The facility has also received dialysis and renal units, modern X-ray machines, ultra sound equipment and an MRI scanner.

“Implementing all these projects requires substantial resources. For this reason, we continue engaging development partners, both locally and internationally, to help actualise our development agenda,” said Mr Ongwae.

The county government plans to construct a Sh150 million mother and child hospital to offer specialised services. This project will take three years to complete, beginning this financial year.

Dr Ondari said the hospital had last received a major facelift more than 10 years ago despite the fact that admissions to the facility had risen sharply.

“The current casualty ward has less than 15 beds and we have about 20 motorbike accidents a day in this region. This requires maximum attention at the emergency centre. Locals expect much from the facility and we will offer our best,” said Ondari.

He added that the hospital would build a doctor’s plaza to host the 23 specialists on its payroll. “We need more medics because of the new services that we are beginning to offer.”