Two of the recently commissioned dispensaries in Kirinyaga county have brought great relief to residents who now enjoy healthcare services at their doorstep.
The two facilities, Umoja and Kiaumbui in Mwea and Gichugu constituencies respectively are the latest among the dispensaries that Governor Anne Waiguru has been commissioning upon completion.
So far, Governor Waiguru has commissioned five out of 20 dispensaries, which her administration had lined up for completion and equipping to primary healthcare completion.
A spot check at the dispensaries reveals the relief they have brought to villagers, who from time immemorial have had to travel for many kilometres in search of medical services.
At Umoja dispensary in Mwea, about 70 patients are served daily, without having to spend money or long trips to facilities almost 10km away. It is serving about 4,500 residents from Ngang’a, Umoja, Mbingo-ini and Kiandegwa villages.
The beneficiaries previously travelled more than five kilometres to get to the nearest public health facilities such as Rurii-Kiandegwa dispensary or Mutithi and Ciagini health centres.
Rhodah Mukami from Kiandegwa village, which neighbours the dispensary, said the facility has been of great help to her as well as her neighbours. She said they would earlier seek services in as far as Embu county where they spent money on transport.
“We used to pay up to Sh200 as fare to hospitals but now, we just walk in whenever we require medical services. We are very grateful to Governor Waiguru for ensuring this dispensary is completed and well equipped,” Rhoda, said.
While commissioning the dispensary last year, Waiguru said her administration would allocate more funds to expand services at the dispensary. A maternity wing, a female and a male ward were among the proposed expansion projects.
“We want to elevate this facility to a level 3 hospital so that people from the area don’t necessarily have to go Kimbimbi Hospital for admission,” she said.
Jane Njeri Karanja, the Facility-In-Charge at Umoja dispensary, said they are able to serve around 70 patients per day within the various outpatient services such as consultation, TB clinic, non-communicable diseases management, antenatal and postnatal care clinics and cervical cancer screening for women among others.
She added an immunisation centre for children is about to be established at the dispensary to enhance mother and childcare services.
At Kiaumbui dispensary in Njuki-ini ward, Gichugu constituency, residents can now receive a variety of outpatient services and minor surgeries and wound dressing.
The facility that is a few kilometres from Kutus-Embu highway has been of help to road accident victims who are rushed there for emergency services, with those requiring further treatment being referred to higher level facilities.
The dispensary that serves no less than 50 patients in a day covers a catchment area with a population of around 4,000 residents, who previously had to travel more than 8km away to the nearest Difathas health centre. Others crossed to the neighbouring county of Embu.
Facility-In-Charge Haniel Njue said the dispensary has been a Godsend to the residents, especially those from the nearby densely populated Mwambao informal settlement. Other villages served by Kiaumbui dispensary are Gathoge, Piai and Kanjuu, Mbiri.
He said apart from offering consultation and treatment, they have been carrying out intensive public health education, especially on hygiene and sanitation.
“Since the dispensary was opened, we have been sensitising members of the community on the importance of cleanliness as a way of preventing diseases. As such, incidences of water borne diseases such as diarrhoea which were prevalent in this area have significantly reduced,” the officer said.
At the dispensary, more than 10 pregnant women, who would previously travel kilometres to Kianyaga Hospital or cross over to Embu for their clinics, can now conveniently access such care.
The presence of antenatal care services goes a long way in prevention of maternal and neonatal deaths since complications in pregnancies are detected in good time allowing for timely intervention.
Plans to start a child immunisation centre at the facility are also underway, an initiative that mothers in the area look forward to.
Pauline Gachoki said Kiaumbui dispensary is of great benefit to people suffering from diabetes and hypertension. They are able to access advice, medication and review at the facility thereby saving them the hustle of travelling long distances or seeking such services from private providers.
She told of how they would earlier on travel up to 10km to the nearest health facility such as Difathas and Murinduko or others across the county. Without money for transport, some people bought medication over the counter or even resulted to use of herbs.
Due to its close proximity to Kiaumbui primary and secondary schools, pupils do not have to waste days in search of medical services. They walk over to the dispensary that is next door and get treated, and if not very sick they can still go back to class.
This also saves their parents' time and money that they would previously spend taking them to facilities away from their locality.
Other dispensary projects that Waiguru has commissioned in the last one year include Kiamwathi, Kianjiru and Joshua Mbai. She said with good primary healthcare at the dispensaries, there will be less congestion at higher level health facilities, thus giving them space to effectively deal with more complex health matters.
She added that towards the achievement of universal health coverage, her administration has invested heavily in infrastructure development of various health facilities across the county.
-Edited by SKanyara