The Murang’a County Government has announced a series of measures and alternative healthcare options after the county’s Level 5 hospital reached full capacity due to a sharp increase in patient numbers.
In a statement on Monday, March 23, the county attributed the surge to recent infrastructure expansion that has drawn more patients to the facility.
"Following the recent expansion of Murang'a County hospitals infrastructure, the county has noted a huge surge of patient numbers in the last few months at the Level 5 facility," the statement read.
The county further detailed the scale of the crisis, noting that both outpatient and inpatient services are operating at their limits.
"The hospital is attending to 1,500 to 2,000 patients daily (outpatients), while those admitted are 500, which is equal to the established bed capacity. This is compounded by the influx of patients from elsewhere," the statement added.
Read More
To manage the overwhelming demand, the county has rolled out a number of urgent interventions aimed at maintaining service delivery and improving patient outcomes.
"To address this huge demand for health services, and to ensure good clinical outcomes, the county has taken the following urgent measures, including re organisation of emergency staff at the casualty department; recalling staff who are currently on leave; deployment of marshallls to guide patients on movement to various points of care; and opening up new wards," the statement noted.
Additional steps include strengthening support systems across other health facilities within the county and increasing staffing where possible.
"Other measures are linkages with other county level 4 hospitals to uptake some patient safety to ease pressure on the referral hospital; ensuring the lab and radiology services are manned 24 hours; recruiting new staff which however will be limited due to our constrained wage bill; and fastracking Locum policy that can assuage such emergencies," the statement further read.
Residents have also been advised to seek care from nearby facilities to reduce congestion at the Level 5 hospital.
"We advise patients to consider neighbouring facilities, including Muriranja's Hospital Mugoiri, which now has additional doctors, new Mukuyu, and Kiangage dispensaries in township wards Kiharu Constituency," the statement concluded.
Elsewhere, this comes months after the county cautioned residents against engaging with The New Coffee Cooperative, an unlicensed coffee cooperative reportedly operating in upper Gitugi, Mathioya.
In a notice on Wednesday, October 22, the administration said the group has been misleading locals by posing as a duly registered and approved cooperative.
"The Murang'a County Government has been made aware of a new coffee cooperative operating in upper Gitugi, Mathioya, purporting to be licensed by our office. The New Coffee Cooperative in upper Gitugi is allegedly hawking coffee without our knowledge or authorization," the notice read.
The county government disclosed that the matter has already been escalated to relevant national bodies for further investigation and regulatory review.
"The County Government has taken note of this matter and has petitioned the National Government to review the licensing process and ensure compliance with relevant regulations," the notice added.
Officials further urged farmers to remain vigilant and verify the authenticity of any organization before engaging in commercial activities.
"We urge all coffee farmers and residents to exercise caution when dealing with such cooperatives and to verify its legitimacy before engaging in any transactions," the notice further read.
