The elevation of Meru Referral Hospital to Level 6 commenced with construction work befitting its new status launched by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki on Thursday.
The Deputy President said the promise to uplift the facility to a higher level as promised by President William Ruto during a recent visit to the area will be fulfilled.
Speaking on Thursday during a visit to the hospital, accompanied by the contractor tasked with giving it a face lift and Meru leaders led by Governor Isaac Mutuma, the DP said the government is keen to complete the project in under a year.
“The President has sent me here today and I have come with the contractor to begin construction work. The President has ordered this to be done within a year so the people can receive treatment here,” he said.
The DP said the project is a big achievement for the region, thanking local leaders for throwing their weight behind it.
“The elevation of the hospital to Level 6 means the county government will now hand it over management to the national government. It will be run as a parastatal like KNH and funded directly by the national government. It is a consequential achievement for this region,” he said.
The construction will be supervised by the Department of Defence which was praised by the Deputy President for doing a good work in the country’s infrastructural development.
“The contractor is being supervised by the Department of Defence. The military has a role to support civilian initiatives like building bridges, roads and infrastructure development. We are utilizing them to support government projects. We have achieved a lot with the military’s support,” he indicated.
With the elevation, the facility now Level 5, will provide critical care to patients from the Upper Eastern region who have been forced to travel long distances to Nairobi and Eldoret for the services.
“Once it is complete, there will be no reason whatsoever for any patient to seek treatment elsewhere because we will have modern facilities for treatment of cancer, heart diseases and kidney dialysis among other critical ailments,” DP assured.
Prof. Kindiki thanked the President for acceding to the request by Meru leaders for the hospital’s elevation.
He asked residents to continue enrolling for SHA medical cover saying it is changing for good accessibility of medical cover for millions of Kenyans.
“SHA is playing a big role in reducing medical costs because it is accessible to everyone unlike NHIF. It has brought equality to the provision of medical care. As of today, 25.2 million Kenyans have registered. We are targeting 55 million Kenyans,” he stated.
At the same time, Prof. Kindiki said the re-designing of Nithi Bridge will start before the end of the year after the government allocated funds.
“Construction of Nithi bridge has been tendered for. It will cost Sh7 billion. It is not a bridge for TharakaNithi but all the people using the road.
This is what pushing for the development agenda of this region is all about. We will surpass the expectations of many people. It is what we mean by two terms,” he noted.
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