Four ambulances donated six months ago to the Nakuru County government by World Health Organisation (WHO) begun operations this week.
The ambulances, which had been sitting at the county headquarters awaiting licensing and registration, begun operations on Monday.
Nakuru Chief Executive of Health Mungai Kabii confirmed that the ambulances were distributed to Gilgil, Rongai, Molo and Subukia.
In a telephone interview on Thursday, Kabii said the ambulances would improve the delivery of quality health services to the residents
The four, which were donated by the World Health Organisation, were received by the county governor Kinuthia Mbugua in early May.
Nakuru residents welcomed the move, saying many patients had lost their lives waiting for the ambulances.
“With the increased cases of accidents in the area we need an emergency response and we hope that the ambulances will be able to provide the much needed relief,” said Peter Mungai, a resident of Nakuru.
“When we have emergencies it becomes a major challenge to move to the rural areas. Many people have lost their lives while trying to access the Subukia District Hospital especially at night and hence the increased cases of people dying unnecessarily,” said Ben Mureithi, a resident
They said that the ambulances should be operational especially during the nights where many cases of emergencies are recorded.
“Labour pains are especially common during the night and hence the challenge stands when women are being taken for delivery. We believe that something can be done to control this,” he added.