Sh30m level 4 hospital to be built in Kieni Constituency

Kieni MP Kanini Kega who says he has secured Sh30 million for the building of a second level four hospital in the expansive constituency in Nyeri County. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The hospital will ease congestion at the Nyeri County Referral Hospital.
  • The county has already kicked off construction of a Sh340 million hospital in Naro Moru.
  • Once operational, the hospital in Kiawara will be used to train students studying at the KMTC campus.

Kieni MP Kanini Kega has secured Sh30 million for the building of a second level four hospital in the expansive constituency.

The lawmaker told residents of Kieni West Sub-County that the Ministry of Health had allocated Sh30 million for building the hospital in Kiawara after the constituency purchased a 10-acre piece of land.

The hospital will ease congestion at the Nyeri County Referral Hospital and save patients from the burden of travelling for over 50 kilometres to access medical care in public facilities.

NARO MORU HOSPITAL

The county has already kicked off construction of a Sh340 million hospital in Naro Moru which is in Kieni East Sub-County.

This will be the first big hospital in the area since independence as the constituency has only health centres and dispensaries.

The MP noted that plans to establish a Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) in Kiawara are at an advanced stage after officials visited the proposed site and supported the building of the new campus.

“We have bought land for the construction of the hospital and the national government has already set aside funds for it. In a few months, we will have an operation level four hospital that will bring reprieve to residents,” Mr Kega said.

TRAIN STUDENTS

Once operational, the hospital in Kiawara will be used to train students studying at the KMTC campus.

Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga pledged to allocate sufficient funds towards the construction and equipping of the new hospital in a bid to improve access to healthcare to residents of Kieni Constituency.

“Kieni Constituency accounts for 52 percent of Nyeri County and is the only constituency without a level four hospital. We have started with setting up a level four facility in Naro Moru and my government will allocate more funds towards the second hospital at Kiawara,” he said.

CLASH

Nyeri Senator Ephraim Maina and Mr Kega had earlier clashed over the lack of a level four in Kieni West Sub-County despite its high population.

The senator had criticised the push for the tarmacking of roads in the constituency and failure to prioritise on hospitals.

The semi-arid constituency has numerous dispensaries sparsely located but lacks basic hospital amenities, resulting to a surge in the number of people going to the Nyeri County Referral Hospital.

Kieni residents are ranked third in the list of patients visiting the outpatient department of the referral hospital according to data from the Nyeri Health department.