The County Government of Nakuru has modernized and upgraded its maternity facilities across the devolved unit, in a move aimed at improving maternal health care access and reducing mortality rates.
According to County Executive Committee Member for Health Care Services Ms Roselyn Mungai, the upgraded facilities features maternity wards, specialized labor, delivery and recovery rooms, neonatal care units and antenatal and postnatal consultation spaces.
Ms Mungai said her department was prioritizing single-bed occupancy for antenatal and post-natal mothers as it actively works to establish independent boarding facilities for Newborn Unit Mothers.
The CECM further said they were strengthening their public health facilities’ capacity through expanded maternity facilities, specialized labor, delivery and recovery rooms, neonatal care units which she added were equipped for critical newborn support, immunization and nutrition services and purpose-built antenatal and postnatal consultation spaces.
Speaking after visiting the refurbished Rhonda and Langalanga Sub-County Hospitals, Ms Mungai pointed out that besides maternity health care, the upgraded facilities were offering outpatient consultation, laboratory services, pharmacy services, tuberculosis screening and treatment, HIV Comprehensive care services and maternal and child health programs.
“Every mother deserves access to safe and affordable maternity health care near where they live,” the official added.
While acknowledging that the upgrade of the facilities was another step towards ensuring healthier mothers, Ms Mungai said the upgrade was already bearing fruits and cited Rhonda Sub-County Hospital maternity unit which she said had recorded 35 safe deliveries in June, while Langalanga Sub-County Hospital registered a record 77 safe deliveries over the same period.
` She said the initiative was part of Governor Susan Kihika’s administration commitment to invest heavily in strengthening primary health care facilities and bringing essential medical services closer to the residents and observed that the facilities had reduced burden on the Nakuru County Teaching and Referral Hospital (NCTRH) while improving access to safe and affordable maternal healthcare.
“We are transforming maternity facilities from trauma zones to safe havens,” Ms Mungai assured.
The upgrade has so far covered Bondeni Maternity in Nakuru City, Gilgil Maternity, Mirugi Kariuki in Nakuru-East, Rhonda in Nakuru Town West, Langalanga in Nakuru Town West and Naivasha Sub-County Hospital- which now has a new Kangaroo Mother Care unit among others.
Ms Mungai said the County government was committed to expanding and equipping all maternity and newborn units to create spaces that promote the provision of quality care and better service to the growing number of expectant mothers.
She added that all the facilities are designed with improved space to support nursing care and patient dignity.
One of Kenya’s success stories in achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) three – maternal and child health- is increased access to delivery under the care of a skilled health provider.
According to the 2022 Kenya Demographic Health Survey, the country boasted an 88 per cent skilled birth attendance rate, with 64 per cent of these occurring in a public health facility.
The CECM further indicated that after a forty year wait more than 60,000 residents relying on Bondeni maternity hospital can now breathe a sigh of relief after a Sh15 million theatre became operational last year.
Ms Mungai said the theatre initially built in 1985 remained unused for decades as it lacked personnel and critical apparatus such as power backup systems, suction and sterilizer machines, defibrillators and anesthesia equipment.
Bondeni maternity, now a level four hospital, is one of the oldest health care facilities in Nakuru having been built in 1952 to take care of African women living in the South of the Railway line.
She said the revival of the theatre was part of the County’s broader initiative to allocate resources to projects that had stalled for many years in the devolved unit.
She regretted that previously, expectant mothers had to travel over 3 kilometres to the Nakuru County Teaching and Referral Hospital (NCTRH) for Cesarean-sections, a journey that sometimes resulted in tragedy.
Ms Mungai assured the residents that critical emergency services are being handled at the new facility. She added that the opening of the new theatre has been accompanied by renovations and equipment procurement, allowing for life-saving surgical procedures to be performed locally.
She was happy that the theatre room had been fitted with ultra-modern equipment where Locals will now be served without being referred unless they have a distinct case that needs a specialist.
Ms Mungai further indicated that the modernization and upgrade of maternity facilities across the devolved unit is aimed at decongesting the Margaret Kenyatta Mother and Baby Unit in Nakuru City, the second largest maternity hospital after Pumwani in Nairobi.
The 250-bed capacity maternity unit located with the Nakuru County Teaching and Referral Hospital (NCTRH) delivers approximately 1,000 babies each month serving not only Nakuru, Bomet, Baringo, Narok, Kericho, Samburu, Laikipia and Nyandarua counties.
The State-of-the-art standalone complex constructed at a cost of Sh450 million and the biggest maternity complex in the larger Rift Valley Region was opened by former First Lady Margaret Kenyatta seven years ago.
The County Government hopes that the ongoing improvement of the facilities will help reduce infant and maternal mortality ratios and also offer affordable maternity services.
The CECM said the devolved unit is focusing on revamping the lower health facilities to enable them provide primary services and allow NCTRH to address complex and referral cases.
Ms Mungai conceded that the Margaret Kenyatta Mother-Baby Unit was surging under the weight of deliveries adding that they were out to ensure all women were supported by sufficient and skilled health providers at the Level 3 health care facilities.
“Generally, NCTRH is a referral hospital yet many mothers opt to come directly to the Margaret Kenyatta Mother and Baby Unit rather than first seek health care at Levels 1-4 facilities,” explained the CECM.
She added that the numbers of expectant mothers seeking services at Margaret Kenyatta Mother-Baby Unit continued rising yet there were a number of facilities that had been improved to offer the same high quality maternity services such as Bondeni, Mirugi, Rhonda and Langalanga hospitals.
Ms Mungai assured residents that the health department was also reducing delays in receipt of care by improving urgent and emergency referral systems.
She urged women in the county to use available facilities during childbirth to reduce mortality rates, adding that they had been upgraded to standards that offer good, safe, and respectful maternal services.
The CECM added that Governor Kihika’s administration will continue to invest heavily in the building and rehabilitation of hospitals, to ensure they are capable of delivering world-class services.
The County objectives, the official said, was to work in line with the Global Sustainable Development Goals, Vision 2030 and our County Integrated Development plan. Sustainable Development Goal 3 strives to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health for all.
The County’s Mother and Baby Units at the Level 3 hospitals currently provide amenities including antenatal and postnatal wards, maternity and child health clinics, laboratories, consultation rooms, specialized clinics, a delivery rooms, nurse stations, offices, kitchens and laundries
Ms Mungai affirmed that as the demand for services at the NTRH continues to rise, the hospital’s leadership is proactively implementing measures to ensure that all service delivery points remain responsive and efficient.
In this regard, she pledged, the County leadership and the hospital administration were committed to enhancing standards of care to ensure residents get good care.
She underscored the County Government’s commitment to support NTRH to meet the growing needs of the community as well as maintain high standards of care and professionalism.
The CECM expressed appreciation to the team of health workers and noted that this commitment to enhanced service delivery is driven by the dedicated efforts of the devolved unit’s clinical, administrative and support teams.
She announced that the Department of Health would continue to forge direct linkages with health facilities across all levels of care.
This approach, she noted, would help monitor service delivery and help identify replicable good practices and success stories in addition to providing invaluable first-hand perspectives on the challenges faced in service delivery and their potential solutions across all levels of medical facilities.
She further disclosed that she had constituted a County Health Management Team (CHMT) that is tasked with reviewing the performance of all units by bringing together all unit’s heads to monitor progress of various performance indicators within their programs.
She said the Department of Health managers hold monthly CHMT meetings to stay on track and ensure they meet the targets outlined in their performance contracts. Every unit head, she added has an opportunity to provide updates on the progress of their performance indicators while also sharing insights and strategies for continued success in the programs.
Ms Mungai noted that the analysis of data and progress reports ensures that the reviews steer the team towards a shared goal of providing quality healthcare services.
