Kiambu governor, Dr. James Nyoro has said that the current 425 beds for Covid-19 patients are not adequate to cater for the current population in Kiambu County.
He added that his Government would invest more money in the health sector for the county to achieve Universal health coverage (UHC) as outlined in the big 4 agenda.
Dr. Nyoro said he would ensure that Lari level 4 hospital which is envisaged to serve people from Lari and Limuru is completed within six months.
The governor while touring the hospital on Friday said the completion of the new facility will increase its bed capacity with 100 more and therefore ease the pain that patients undergo traversing long distances in search of services.
He appealed to the residents of the 2 sub-counties to be patient and continue adhering to the Ministry of health protocols of protecting themselves against Covid 19 by properly wearing masks, keeping social distances and avoiding crowded places.
“The first level of maintaining safety is in your homes where you have to maintain all the required protocols. In case you discover that you have any health problems, you should not hesitate to consult the nearest hospital so that you are attended to before your condition deteriorate,” Dr. Nyoro advised.
He directed that people with non-communicable diseases should now be given drugs to use for one month, so that they avoid frequent visits to health institutions.
Governor Nyoro recalled that on the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 when the President directed counties to have at least 300 ICU beds, Kiambu county diverted the money that was meant to construct Lari hospital to Wangige and Tigoni hospitals.
He said this helped the devolved unit to even surpass the 300 target within record time. He said owing to the growing number of people infected on a daily basis with Kiambu becoming second to Nairobi, the completion of Lari hospital would be accelerated.
By Lydia Shiloya
