Despite calls from various political circles to have health as a department and ministry redirected back to the national Government from the County Government management, there are several positives that have been derived from the devolution of the sector.
Medical superintendent doctor at Bungoma County referral hospital Magrima Mayama, outlined several development projects done by the Bungoma County Government led by governor Ken Lusaka since he came into power in 2013.
According to Mayama, the governor has invested in increasing access to services delivery through increasing the number of doctors specialized because way back there were few doctors but right now there are around 25-29 doctors and the county is still willing to hire more.
“The County Government has provided two ambulances which are able to offer highly specialized care during the patients’ referral and every single Sub County has ambulances that ease transport for patients.”
The Medic also said that there was improved infrastructure at the hospital which was started in the early 1950s and other health facilities in the County, all that owing to devolution.
“There is a new pediatric wing which can cater for over 100 children at any given time yet the previous word had only 40 beds which could not accommodate many patients,” she said.
Apart from the other service delivery improvement, the hospital also houses an ISO certified lab which is nationally recognized.
“In general, I can say that the hospital is getting a lot of support from the County Government including referral equipment not only for this hospital but also for other hospitals in Bungoma County which are able to cater for all patients,” she said.
It was also reported that the hospital staff got their salaries on time, something that had boasted the working morale of the workforce.
The construction of a new pediatric wing that caters for both out and in patients, has done much in serving the increasing number of patients, though there is still hope of construction of a new hospital with a bigger space.
“The County Government of Bungoma has ensured that the hospital offers affordable and quality services to the residents,” said the Medical Superintendent.
