The team was interested in health care and water services
Officials from the County Government of Bomet have visited public medical facilities and water
projects in Kirinyaga County to benchmark on service delivery.
The delegation which was led by County Executive Committee Member for Medical and Health
Services Dr. Joseph Sitonik toured the state-of-the-art medical complex at the Kerugoya County
Referral Hospital and the new complex that is coming up at Kimbimbi hospital.
Sitonik said the team of had been sent by Governor Hillary Bachok to learn on how Kirinyaga
has managed to transform the healthcare and water sector in the county.
“This a benchmark visit and you cannot hide the fact that Kirinyaga is actually a leader in these
sectors. We have learned a lot through this visit and plan to replicate what we have seen and
learnt in Bomet,” Sitonik added.
He said Kirinyaga had greatly improved on health infrastructure and service delivery hence
making it an ideal destination for benchmarking.
The CEC said the team had taken note of how the Kerugoya Medical Complex and its
functioning has been designed with a long term plan of addressing future challenges.
“We are in the processes of equipping our Mother and Child hospital in Bomet and we are in the
phase where we are trying to see what equipment and fittings we require and we want to invite
the architect, biomedical engineer, CEC among others to come help us on areas we need not
factor while building out facility,” Dr. Sitonik said.
He emphasized on need for counties to work together and collaborate on areas of success so as to
strengthen devolution and enhance services delivery to the people across the country.
“Kirinyaga is an example of what devolution has done in this country to actually to transform
rural areas that would have been neglected if the centralized system of Government was still
persistent,” Waiguru added.
Kirinyaga County has been ranked among the counties leading in innovative approaches to
healthcare among them deployment of technology like the Hospital Management Integrated
System which ensures accountability, monitoring and evaluation of the healthcare system.
Bomet CECM Water, Sanitation, Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change
Chepkuto Jepchirchir said Kirinyaga is one of the rural counties free from water shortage and
Bomet was keen to learn on the successes.
“We are happy as Bomet County that this visit has gotten us answers to some of the challenges to
do with provision of water. Kirinyaga is one of the rural County that has registered great
progress in provision of water for domestic and irrigation and anyone who want to learn on
success of devolution then you must visit Kirinyaga,” said Chepkuto.
Speaking during the visit, the Kirinyaga CEC for Medical Services, Public Health and Sanitation
Health and Medical Services, Dr. George Karoki said the visit by the delegation from Bomet was
a testament that the health sector transformation in Kirinyaga was bearing fruit.
He said the county government has invested heavily in infrastructural and service delivery
reforms, bringing about a robust healthcare system that is responsive to the growing demand for
contemporary and high-quality services.
“The opening of state-of-the-art Medical Complex that has elevated the Kerugoya County
Referral Hospital to a level five facility that is now offering comprehensive medical services for
which residents have always been referred to Nairobi has been a game-changer,” he said.
Several other counties among them Turkana, Laikipia, Kiambu, Nyeri and Tharaka Nithi have
also visited the facility on a learning tour.
Latest survey released by Infotrak this month ranked Kirinyaga’s health sector number three in
terms of performance among counties in the country.
Governor Anne Waiguru asked political leaders to stop politicizing health matters as this was
hurting those working in health facilities.
Waiguru said the benchmarking visits by delegations from six counties was an indication the
devolved units had seen some of the best practices to borrow and implement in their counties.
“As a leader and if you have a genuine complaint and you want a solution and want to help
people, then take it through the right channel. Don’t talk from Nairobi. You call the Governor
and tell me you have gone to this facility and found this problem but stop lecturing our medics
because you are hurting them,” she said.
