Nyeri County Public Service Board (CPSB) is in the process of recruiting 55 new nurses, to improve service delivery in the County’s healthcare system.
Acting Health County Executive Committee Member (CECM), Robert Thuo, has said the County does not have the requisite number of nurses to attend to all health cases that arise.
According to Thuo, the county requires an additional 400 nurses to effectively deliver services. Currently there are 850 nurses working in different public health facilities.
Thuo, who was speaking during the official launch of International Nurses Week at the Nyeri Town Health Centre grounds, asked the CPSB to fast track the recruitment process to ease the burden that the residents go through as they seek health services.
“Our nurses have been our soldiers in the health department especially during the Covid-19 crisis. Though we have a shortage of nurses in our public health facilities, we are in the process of addressing this by recruiting 55 new nurses who will also relieve the workload from the current workforce,” Thuo said.
He also disclosed that the county government has installed four coolers in Mukurwe-ini Sub-County Hospital morgue to ensure smooth preservation of bodies. He said the issue was addressed urgently since the morgue serves the larger area of Mukurwe-ini, Othaya and even parts of Murang’a County.
“We recently had an issue of three coolers breaking down in Mukurwe-ini morgue leaving only one cooler in operation. I want to confirm that the issue has been resolved. The county government has spent Sh2.5 million in installing the four new coolers so that the morgue can continue serving those in need,” Thuo stated.
The CECM has further assured Nyeri residents of enough stock of drugs and other medical supplies in the public health facilities. He said that the county had been able to secure a new batch of drugs from Kenya Medical Supplies Authority to ensure patients do not incur additional expense of buying medicine from chemists.
“Nyeri County was able to procure Sh27 million worth of drugs in the last two weeks and we still have a budget to cater for that. There should be no worry among the residents, we have money in the budget to procure more drugs,” Thuo assured.
He urged Nyeri residents especially the youths who have not received the Covid-19 vaccine to get inoculated, noting that the Country was still staring at a possible new wave which may have dire effects on those who have not received the jab.
By Ann Ngure
