Residents of Mathioya in Kenya can now access a range of medical services closer to home following the upgrading of Nyakianga Hospital to a Level IV facility. The hospital now offers surgery, maternity and other specialised services, reducing the need for referrals to Murang'a Level V Hospital. The upgrade is expected to cut referral cases, reduce treatment costs and allow patients requiring urgent medical attention to be attended to closer to their homes.
Medical Officer Dr David Wamburi said the expansion has transformed Nyakianga Hospital from a dispensary into a facility capable of handling more complex cases. The hospital now has a functional theatre, radiology department, expanded maternity unit and additional inpatient wards. Wamburi said the availability of a functional theatre is particularly important for patients developing complications during childbirth or requiring emergency surgery.
Governor Irungu Kang'ata commissioned the facility, noting that Mathioya had been the only constituency in Murang'a without a Level IV facility. The upgrade is part of efforts to spread higher-level healthcare services across the county. Kang'ata said the county is progressively expanding and equipping hospitals to increase their capacity to handle patients who would otherwise be referred to Murang'a Level Five Hospital.
The hospital has been equipped with various units, including a theatre, casualty unit, labour ward, antenatal and postnatal units, newborn unit, paediatric ward, female and male wards, as well as laboratory and radiology services offering X-rays and ultrasound examinations. The expanded maternity and newborn units are expected to strengthen maternal and child healthcare, while the theatre will allow doctors to perform surgical procedures.
The radiology department will enable clinicians to carry out X-ray and ultrasound examinations at the facility, reducing delays associated with referrals for diagnostic services. Gitugi MCA Mwangi Wairagu welcomed the upgrade, saying residents had for years been forced to seek some medical services outside the area. The expansion is expected to ease pressure on Murang'a Level Five Hospital while reducing the time and expenses incurred by families travelling to referral facilities.
The upgrade gives Mathioya residents access to a wider range of medical services within the sub-county, with doctors already deployed to support the expanded facility. The county is also investing in other healthcare facilities, including Kigumo Hospital, where a dialysis centre has been established, and Kandara Hospital, which is undergoing expansion.
Muriranjas Subcounty Hospital has been equipped with a telemedicine centre to allow residents to access specialist services remotely. The investments aim to take healthcare services closer to residents, reducing the need for patients to travel to the county referral hospital for services that could be provided at lower-level facilities.
Key points
- The upgraded Nyakianga Hospital offers surgery, maternity and specialised medical services to Mathioya residents.
- The hospital's expansion is expected to ease pressure on Murang'a Level Five Hospital.
- The county is investing in other healthcare facilities to increase access to medical services.
