Governor Nyoro appeals for more funds as patients flock Kiambu
Kiambu Governor Dr.James Nyoro Tuesday said hospitals in his county have been overstretched by the influx of patients from neighboring counties.
He petitioned the national government to consider allocating more cash to his administration so that it can cope with what he called 'a looming health crisis'.
"As we speak, 41% of the patients admitted at the Kiambu Level 4 hospital maternity wards come from Nairobi county and this has definitely overwhelmed the hospital," he told the media.
He was speaking at the Tigoni level 4 hospital after receiving Personal Protection Equipments (PPEs) from the Kenya Covid-19 Fund and Equity Group Foundation.
Nyoro said that his county should be accorded special consideration when resources are being shared by the government adding it uses most of it's revenue to buy hospital drugs.
"We use hundreds of millions to buy drug and stock our pharmacies but as I have told you, half of the medicine is consumed by our neighbours," he said.
The governor revealed that his government had put aside the Gatundu hospital as the isolation and treatment centers for medical personnel infected with Covid-19.
"We already have a few health officials infected and are hospitalized at the Gatundu hospital. Our county is located next to Nairobi which is the epicentre of the pandemic and that's why the number of new cases is rising rapidly particularly in Kiambu town, Kikuyu and Ruiru," he said.
Earlier, Kenya Covid-19 Fund Board Executive Officer Jane Karuku said that sh1.4 billion shillings has been set aside by the fund towards buying PPEs for the next 18 months.
She urged both the county governments and health care providers to use the equipment prudently.
"We also have brought 100,000 masks for use by the most vulnerable residents of Kiambu who can't afford to buy and I call upon well-wishers to continue giving their financial and material donations," she said.
Fund chairman Dr.James Mwangi who inspired Kenyans by giving a personal donation of 300 million shillings several months ago said that the PPEs were now being manufactured locally.
He said that the equipment meets the World Health Organization specifications adding that local production would minimise cost, availability, and accessibility.
Mwangi noted that the equipment offers important measures of Covid-19 infection prevention and control for the frontline medical workers during the ongoing fight against the pandemic.
"The PPEs are used by medics manning wards, those directly handling patients and those diagnosing them on daily basis and we beseech the users to use them prudently," he said.
Saying that no calamity lasts forever, he urged Kenyans to adhere to all the laid down directives and protocols in order to be safe.
"The best one can do is adhere to the prevention guidelines. It should also dawn on us that the civility of a society is displayed by how it handles the downtrodden and therefore all should be their brothers and sisters keepers," he said.
During the event which was also attended by the Kiambu County Commissioner Wilson Wanyanga, Limuru MP Peter Mwathi, and Kiambu County Speaker Bishop Stephen Ndicho, the board distributed disposable gowns, surgical masks, masks, nitrile gloves and white gumboots.
