President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday night officially unveiled 5 new hospitals across different areas in the city.
Accompanied by Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) boss Major General Mohammed Badi, President Kenyatta directed the medical facilities to offer 24-hour services to residents.
The five new health facilities are part of 24 such hospitals being constructed by NMS as part of a broad Government plan to decongest Kenyatta National Hospital, Mama Lucy, Pumwani, and Mbagathi hospitals.
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The hospitals launched by the Head of State in the four-hour night operation were two level 2 hospitals at Gichagi in Kangemi and Gatina in Kawangware as well as level 3 hospitals in Mukuru Kwa Rueben, Tassia Kwa Ndege and Our Lady of Nazareth in Mukuru Kwa Njenga.
Addressing journalists who accompanied him during the night operation at State House, Nairobi after the exercise, the President said he chose to commission the new hospitals at night so as to adhere to Covid-19 containment protocols.
“We went at night because we wanted to ensure that we were observing Covid-19 protocols. As you have seen for yourselves, it would have been impossible to go and do what we did today, during the day because of the number of people who would have been out there. It would have been very difficult for us to do the job we wanted to do and at the same time observe Covid protocols that the government has put in place,” he said.
On his directive for 24-hour service by the new hospitals being put up by NMS across the metropolis, the President said he had observed during his inspection tours that most city health facilities operated only during the day denying residents much-needed healthcare at night.
“We also discovered that Nairobi hospitals open at 8am and were closing at 6pm. Meaning that if somebody got sick or was in need of medical attention after 6pm the only medical facility they could access was Kenyatta National Hospital.
“So we decided it was important that these hospitals that we are building operate on a 24 hours basis. We also wanted to see whether it was possible both on accessibility point of view and staffing point of view,” the President said.
He announced that 19 out of the 24 new hospitals being constructed by NMS were complete, adding that plans are underway to adequately resource them for 24-hour operations.
According to the Head of State, his night tour was also aimed at inspecting the ongoing road construction projects within the informal settlements.
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