Baringo: Baringo Governor Benjamin Cheboi has warned politicians and local leaders against politicising the health sector in the county. The county boss asked local leaders to keep politics away from Baringo County Referral Hospital matters in order to improve healthcare services.
According to Kenya News Agency, this comes after a section of leaders led by Senator Vincent Chemitei and Baringo Central Member of Parliament Joshua Kandie publicly raised concerns over the deteriorating healthcare services and increased deaths at the county main referral hospital in Kabarnet town. Cheboi stated that strategies are in place to improve healthcare in the referral hospital and over 200 facilities across the county.
The governor, while addressing the media after making an impromptu visit to the facility, stated that the county is well stocked with drugs from the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA), which they regularly replenish every three months. He emphasized that contrary to claims by his opponents, the hospital is performing well, serving over 200 patients daily, and urged those seeking political mileage to desist from using the hospital for such purposes.
Cheboi mentioned that the current congestion will be alleviated once a new 300-bed capacity surgical block is equipped to provide enough space for patients needing other treatment services. He disclosed that the county administration is renovating the outpatient triage emergency casualty section, which is expected to be completed in the next three months to better serve critical patients and their caregivers.
The governor added that the county has more than enough ambulances to support responses and referrals of patients to nearby health facilities across the county and beyond.
