Kisumu Governor Professor Anyang’ Nyong’o has said that his administration is keen on providing its residents with quality health care. [nation.co.ke]
Plans are underway to build a new 150-bed capacity health facility at Victoria Hospital in Kisumu County.
The modern medical facility will be built in partnership between the County government, Marathon Consultants and Anyang’ Hospital of South Korea in a deal signed recently in Dubai, Kisumu Governor, Prof. Anyang’ Nyong’o has revealed.
Prof. Nyong’o made the remarks on Thursday in a speech read for him by his deputy, Dr. Mathews Owili to mark the official opening of a conference dubbed: ‘Re-Visioning Healthcare service Delivery for Kisumu County’.
He said this new Public-Private-Partnership will ensure Victoria hospital gets transformed into a comprehensive medical center with specialized clinics, operating theatres and a diagnostic center all rolled into one but preferred not to reveal the projected cost of the investment.
“While this hospital will target those who are insured privately or through National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), 30% of the patients will be treated on a charity basis,” he explained.
The Governor added that his government will also do a facelift for Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching & Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) to make it a modern facility with all the specialized units.
Priority will be to construct a new surgical department with operating theatres and wards, he explained, pointing out that many of the locals suffer while seeking cancer treatment services, especially radiotherapy.
Prof. Nyong’o disclosed that as a former Minister for Medical Services, he was aware that most of them seek cancer treatment in Nairobi or neighboring Uganda where they have to contend with very long queues and delays to access radiotherapy.
“To meet this demand for cancer care services, my government signed an MoU with Cancer care Communication Organization, Merck Pharmaceuticals and Maseno University to establish the Western Kenya Comprehensive Care Center (WKCC) at JOOTRH,” he said.
The Governor confided that the center will offer radiotherapy services, chemotherapy and palliative care for all cancer patients in the region. He disclosed that plans were afoot to have him officiate the ground-breaking ceremony to initiate the construction of the bunker.
Arguing that prevention was better than cure, Prof. Nyong’o stated that many diseases we spend a lot of time and money treating could instead be prevented at the community level but in order to maximize the efficacy of preventive interventions his government has laid out programs.