Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) Chief Executive Officer Dr Wilson Aruasa has asked counties in the North Rift region and Western Kenya to focus on investing in ensuring they have sufficient oxygen for patients.
Dr Aruasa also wants devolved units that depend on MTRH for referral health services to also ensure their county health facilities have enough essential drugs.
According to the MTRH boss, with enough oxygen and drugs at county facilities, more lives will be saved, and also reduce the burden of congestion at the Eldoret-based referral hospital – which is the second biggest in the country.
He said currently, there are over 110 patients on piped oxygen at the hospital.
“If you don’t save those lives, they will be taken away by basic things like lack of oxygen and essential drugs. This is why we encourage hospitals in this region to invest in oxygen and essential drugs list because counties are our key stakeholders,” noted Dr Aruasa.
MTRH which boasts of hosting the largest oxygen plant in East and Central Africa offers health services for patients from across 25 counties in Western Kenya and the North Rift region.
Dr Aruasa says despite the Covid-19 pandemic, they have been able to continue offering other essential services like surgical, Intensive Care Unit among others.
“These diseases are linked in a way, and the way they are linked is that if you don’t take of them, they can lead to severe immobility or even death. This is why we cannot focus on Covid-19 and ignore the rest,” said the MTRH CEO.
