Government to construct modern 2,000 bed facility at graft riddled MTRH hospital
The government is set to construct a modern 2,000 bed Multi-specialty facility at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Kiplombe area, as part of ongoing reforms aimed at enhancing access to quality and affordable healthcare in the country, Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha has said.
She spoke yesterday during a tour of the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret adding that the designs of the facility are ready with the government seeking for a proper financing mechanism to kick off the project.
“The Ministry of Health will address the budgetary needs raised by MTRH Management to ensure MTRH meets all her Staffing, Training, Equipment and other needs,” said the health CS.
Previous plans to upgrade the hospital have been riddled with controversy and graft claims over inflated cost of the project.
In April 2012, a local contractor jointly with Chinese companies- China Wu Yi and China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) mooted botched plans to upgrade the hospital with MTRH mandated to co-ordinate the upgrading works.
The flopped upgrading works projected to increase the capacity to 1000 bed capacity had allegedly been inflated from the initial projection of Sh17billion to Sh28billion.
However, Nakhumicha has said the new project will place the MTRH at a sound pedestal in her contribution to the achievement of Universal Health Coverage for the Kenyan people.
She added that the Ministry of Health will assist with equipping and staffing of two hospitals whose construction is expected to be completed in the next one and half years.
“The Ministry of Health will address the budgetary needs raised by MTRH Management to ensure MTRH meets all her Staffing, Training, Equipment and other needs. This will place MTRH at a sound pedestal in her contribution to achievement of Universal Health Coverage(UHC) for the Kenyan people.” Said the health CS.
She said the Ministry of Health will assist with equipping and staffing of two hospitals whose construction is expected to be completed in the next one and a half years.
“Two partners, namely Shoe4Africa Foundation, New York, USA and Sidekick Foundation, Indiana, USA have been granted VAT exemption status by government of Kenya to construct the multi-million 162-bed Shoe4Africa Julie Anne Perry Children’s Hospital and 64-bed Harry J. Dyer Children Burns Hospital in the new year.” Nakhumicha said.
She said the two facilities will help decongest MTRH even as she urged Counties to prioritize quality healthcare delivery so that not every patient has to come all the way to MTRH.
And to address some of the concerns raised by the Kenya medical practitioners, pharmacists and dentists Union, the health CS said the government will be posting 800 medical interns in the second week of this month.
She said the government through the ministry of health has initiated key governance reforms targeting among others NHIF and KEMSA as it seeks to bring down the cost of healthcare. The government has also amalgamated some schemes including the Linda mama programme as well as the planned scale up of the health insurance subsidy programme for the poor and most vulnerable to 5 million indigent households over the next three years.
Speaking during the meeting, MTRH CEO Dr. Wilson Aruasa said the hospital remains integral in ongoing health reforms serving as a nucleus for 22 counties as well as attending to patients from neighbouring countries. Citing the MTRH Nawiri recovery and skills project that provides mental health patients with opportunities of economic development skills, Aruasa said the facility has adopted innovative concepts to help deal with existing challenges.
