Parliamentary Health Committee asks counties to emulate Thika Level 5 Hospital.

Parliamentary Health Committee Chairperson Sabina Wanjiru Chege addressing the press at Thika Level 5 Hospital on Friday after a fact finding mission at the facility.

The Parliamentary Departmental Health Committee has applauded Thika Level 5 Hospital in its implementation of Managed Equipment Services (MES) programme and asked other counties to learn from facility they want improve on access to health care.

In a press briefing on Friday afternoon after a fact finding mission at the facility, its chairperson Sabina Wanjiru Chege said that her committee was satisfied with what they saw, acknowledging the fact that if all counties replicated the hospital as a benchmark, the government would easily achieve its vision for universal health care.

“If what we have seen at Thika Level 5 is what is actually happening in other hospitals, then MES is really a success. We are very impressed. We have also seen that NHIF is covering all these services meaning that mwananchi is receiving these services for free if they have the card,” said Sabina.

She was also happy to note that the CT Scan facility at the hospital that is scheduled to be commissioned in the next 10 days will drastically ease pressure on Kenyatta National Hospital which has been overwhelmed by the big number of patients being referred there for the service.

The Murang’a Women Representative also promised to push the Ministries of Health and Treasury to jumpstart the implementation of the KES. 8 billion Kenyatta University Hospital which has stalled due to lack of KES. 600 million.

She promised to visit all the 98 facilities currently under the Sh38 billion MES programme so as to ascertain their status of the implementation.

The MES arrangement ensures that public hospitals have access to modern health infrastructure, equipment and/or services over an agreed period with the government making sure public hospitals are fully equipped with specialised medical equipment such as surgical sets for basic and specialised surgeries, equipment for radiology, theatre, renal and Intensive Care Unit.

The aim is to ensure that Kenyans can access all emergency services, maternal and child health services, basic and advanced surgery, renal (dialysis) services, critical care services and diagnostics and imaging at these hospitals.

The programme covers approximately 98 health facilities across the country (2 hospitals in each County).