Policy to boost timely medical c*re launched
George Kebaso @Morarak
The Ministry of Health has unveiled the first-ever Emergency Medical Care Policy 2020-2025.
It seeks to cut down deaths and disabilities that occur due to delayed emergency care to patients requiring critical attention.
Health Chief Administrative Secretary Dr Rashid Aman said implementation of effective, prioritised, timely emergency care has the potential to address 45 per cent of deaths and 36 per cent of disabilities occasioned by slow response to tragedies that require quick medical care.
Speaking in Nairobi yesterday when he unveiled the strategy, Aman said the emergence of coronavirus has exposed response to emergency care where people die from preventable causes.
“The policy seeks to establish a vibrant Emergency Medical Care system as a key component of the health care system and as an enabler to achieving Universal Healthcare Coverage,” he said.
As a reflection, at the onset of the pandemic, Dr Aman said the government initiated a single short-code toll- free emergency access number, 719, which was supported by a dedicated 24-hour Call Centre with trained healthcare providers. This, he noted, enabled the government to coordinate the care of Covid-19 patients across the country.
“Dedicated Covid-19 ambulances were also dispatched through this service to provide emergency care and evacuation for patients to treatment centres.
The success of these initiatives therefore, has highlighted the importance of having these emergency care infrastructures permanently established not only for pandemics but also to be used everyday for any emergencies and also during times of disasters,” he added.
He said the fund will be akin to existing ones such as the National Hospital Insurance Fund.
Head of Public Health Dr Francis Kuria said a mechanism on how the fund will work to provide emergency care is being formulated. “The fund will enable every Kenyan access medical care when they need it at any given time,” he said.
Chairman of St John Ambulance Paul Ndung’u said the policy is timely and will help in the standardisation and coordination. However, getting the system to work, he said is the bone of contention.
Ststem works
“We hope that the Steering Committee that will be charged with implementing it will ensure the system works,” he said.
E-Plus Emergency Medical Director Susan Ng’ong’a noted that the overall goal of the policy, whose formulation kicked off in 1998, is to ensure emergency care is provided for those who need it immediately.
“The policy has undergone several reviews. The current emergency care service delivery in Kenya has a myriad of challenges, and we believe this policy will address them holistically,” she said.
