It is a sigh of relief to the residents of Busia after an investor established a private hospital with an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Busia town.
Speaking to the press during the official launch of the facility on Saturday, Brimaxa Hospital Administrator Innocent Situma said that Busia was one of the Counties without an ICU, HDU, or CT Scan.
“This situation exposes patients to a lot of complications before they reach referral facilities like Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret and Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi,” he said.
Situma added that the investment will bring healthcare services closer to the local residents in line with the government’s vision of universal healthcare provision.
“We have come up with a very good model which will cater for the rural medical facilities,” Situma said, adding that it will offer services to the local residents at a very affordable price.
The official further said that they had partnerships with hospitals in Turkey and India, and they will bring specialists to the facility to carry out spinal surgery, attend to cancer patients, and perform other complicated procedures.
“Possibly next year, we are going to launch Brimaxa School of Health Sciences because we are in the process of procuring a modern anatomy laboratory in partnership with Busia KMTC and Alupe University so that we can train our doctors and nurses,’ he said.
Situma added that the facility had embarked on the process of applying for NHIF and assured the residents that they will soon start offering services through NHIF.
“We also want to encourage local residents to register with NHIF so that they can comfortably access treatment at the facility,” he said.
The owner of the facility, Sheikh Abdi Noor, said there were plans to expand the facility into a level 5 facility within the next two to three months.
‘We also have insurances for those who have Kenya Alliances, AAR, Jubilee, and other insurances,’ he said.
Phaustine Nanjala, a former employee of the Busia County health sector, said that many patients in the County have died because they had to travel long distances after being referred to Bungoma and Eldoret to seek special treatment.
Elizabeth Adhiambo, a teacher representative within Busia, appreciated Brimaxa for the initiative, adding that it will help teachers access quality healthcare services.
Adhiambo stated that teachers in the County have been forced to seek services in Bungoma and Uasin Gishu counties due to poor quality services offered by a private health facility that had a monopoly on teachers’ health insurance cover.
“I urge all the teachers around the County to come and seek services at this facility,” she said, adding that the facility had already applied to partner with their insurance company.
The former Governor of Siaya, Cornel Rasanga, said that the facility will help people beyond the borders.
Rasanga appealed to the National Government to ensure that the NHIF system becomes operational so that the vulnerable in society can access healthcare services.
By Salome Alwanda
