Kerugoya County Hospital CT scan center now fully operational

Kirinyaga County residents can now access Computed Tomography (CT) scan services at Kerugoya County Hospital. The state-of-the-art CT scan equipment was installed in a collaboration between County and the National Governments under the Managed Equipment Services (MES)

While inspecting service delivery at the CT scan center, the County Executive Committee Member for Health Gladys Kimingi, said that the equipment has come as a relief to many patients who would previously be referred to hospitals far from the county. “We are now fully equipped to offer CT scan services and we are appealing to the county residents to make use of the facility” she said adding that there is a Radiologists and radiographers as well as other staff manning the center to ensure smooth operation. She said that the CT scan facility is a game changer in the level of services that the hospital has been providing noting that it reduces the amount of time spent between diagnosis and treatment which is very critical when it comes to saving lives.

CEC Kimingi added that CT scans give very fast results hence will also enhance the speed at which emergency patients receive treatment pointing out that a CT scanner gives high quality pictures thereby improving the accuracy of diagnosis. She said that for safety, the facility has been well constructed with a double wall and doors made of lead to prevent radiations from being transmitted outside the scanner room.

CT scan is used for detecting and monitoring diseases and conditions such as cancer, heart diseases, lung nodules etc. It is also used to locate tumors, infections, blood clots and brain tumors as well as muscle and bone disorders among other conditions. The CEC said that availability of the equipment is going reduce the referrals from the hospital to by a great margin. Before the installation the hospital could refer an average of 20 patients in week to other facilities with CT scan equipment. Even though health services is a function under county governments, the national government has been supporting the sector with an aim of ensuring that Universal Health Coverage, which is one of the priority projects of the ‘Big Four’ agenda, is achieved.

Kerugoya County Hospital is set to attain a Level Five Hospital status with completion of a five storey modern medical complex. The 250 bed capacity complex will have facilities such as Intensive Care Unit (ICU), High Dependency Unit (HDU) among other amenities that will enable the treatment of many ailments even the ones for which patients are currently referred to other hospitals.