LAIKIPIA COUNTY HEALTH LEADERSHIP VISIT MTRH
Laikipia County Health leadership Yesterday January 17, 2020 visited Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) on a mission to initiate collaboration on areas of mutual interest with MTRH.
While welcoming the guests, Hospital CEO Dr. Wilson K. Aruasa, MBS enumerated the work done in the Hospital that is always geared towards improving lives of Kenyans in Western Kenya and beyond. The CEO said MTRH’s success is not a one day event, but rather a continuous work in progress.
Dr. Aruasa further said the Hospital is scaling up its services to capture neighbouring Countries, noting that the numbers of patients from across the borders is getting higher. He indicated that MTRH is serving Kenyans more through implementation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), saying through these activities, health systems in the Counties would eventually be strengthened by more interractions in outreaches between MTRH and the Counties. “We want to ask Laikipia County to take the lead in actualizing provision of quality healthcare, especially using the model already adopted by that County of Research to identify people’s needs. Laikipia County has successfully used research to identify groups of the County’s population who are poor. The County initiated rapid NHIF enrollment of those groups and brought them to the fold as the rest of the population”. The CEO said.
The CEO reiterated that for services to grow, there should be a balance of Human Resources components such that the core staff-in this case clinical staff for hospitals should be 70% while the corporate staff take the 30%, saying that balancing means such Institutions would be able to meet people needs.
Dr. Aruasa also urged Laikipia County Health Department Officials to embrace training and research especially Operational Research, saying it has the capacity of driving quality services in any sector.
From the interactions in the CEO’s Boardroom, the team was also advised to listen to staff, mentor them and grant any other support Management deems fit so that staff skills come out clearly and play role in the overall success of their Institutions. The CEO said working closely with all the Unions in the health sector boosts tolerance, and patience with health workers Unions. He also singled out staff exit surveys which play a pivotal role in understanding and improving staff retention. He reiterated that all these processes form Professional management of Health services.
Dr. Aruasa also credited the major role that partnerships and collaborations played in the Development of Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.
The Team from Laikipia County enumerated their goals and called on MTRH to be part of the journey to scale up the provision of services. MTRH and Laikipia Department of Health also signed an MoU that would cover specialised Referral healthcare services,training/capacity building and research. Other areas the MoU covered include; healthcare financing,Universal Health Coverage (UHC), role of community units among other critical issues.
A number of MTRH Directors were present, that included: Director, Surgical Services Dr. Saratiel Nyabera; Director Medicine, Dr. Wilson Sugut; Director, Peadiatrics and Child Health Dr. Polycarp Mandi; Director, Nursing Services Mr. Titus Tarus all gave highlights of work and processes in the Directorates.
The Team from Laikipia included: CECM, Health Dr. Lenai Kamario, Deputy Director Clinical Services Dr. S.K. Maina and Ms. Nancy Muchiri, Nursing Officer, Nanyuki Teaching Referral Hospital(NTRH).
Also present were: HoD , Anaeasthesiology,Critical Care and Theatres Dr. Kituyi, Dr. Zachary Kasepoi and Senior Hospital Staff, Mr. Stanley C. Kulei and Sylvia Nyariki. The Team was thereafter taken on a tour of Renal Unit, Shoe4Africa Children Hospital, Riley Mother and Baby Hospital the Emergency Department and Simulation Lab.