LAUNCH OF THE AMAZING TRANSFORMATION TO INTERNATIONAL

STANDARDS OF HEALTH CENTERS IN MACHAKOS COUNTY.

I am pleased today to accompany Lillian in launching the new look
Health Centers across Machakos County.
About six months ago, my Government undertook to refurbish
and bring to international standards the health care facilities that
treat majority of our citizens. Lillian volunteered to oversee the
project to ensure quality is achieved with very few resources.
Today, as a result, 15 out of the 30 health centers in Machakos
county are the best health centers in the whole of Kenya,
providing the right environment, processes and treatment of our
patients. Work in the other 15 starts next month. The state of the
health centers that my Government inherited when we became a
county were despicable. Most had no toilets for patients and staff,
no waiting bays, confused card systems, dirty consulting rooms
and horrible wards with sagging beds and even blood-soaked
bedding. The environment was such that one would most likely
contract a new disease from the health facility when one went in
for treatment.
In addition to the environment, Lillian also found that the
treatment system was in a shambles. A patient would come to
one place, go round and round in no particular sequence, wasting
valuable hours. Some even had the initial triage checkup done
outside in the corridors with no privacy. Today, each treatment
process, from arrival, triage to pharmacy are in an organized
sequence. The time spent at the Health Centres by a patient has
been reduced from an average of three hours to one hour.
I thank Lillian for her commitment, especially of maternal health
care, cancer screening and treatment and assurance of quality
health services. She has done an exemplary job. She makes me
very proud.
I also wish to thank my staff in the ministry of health who have
tirelessly worked with Lillian to achieve these amazing changes.
Thanks also to some of the Maendeleo Chap Chap minded
Members of Machakos County Assembly who have supported

these improvements.
My Government has put in place systems to ensure the quality is
maintained and that services are improved every day. A task force
to improve health services has started its work and will be
presenting me with an interim report in four weeks' time.
Each of the Health Centres has an ongoing expansion that is
going on to add an X-Ray room, mini-theatre, more consulting
rooms, laboratory and expanded wards. These will transform
them to community hospitals in a few months' time. These quality
services, are part of the Maendeleo Chap Chap paradigm that
shows that it is possible for us, with commitment, integrity and
speed to be able to match what others have done elsewhere in
the world so that our people get the best services.
To me and my Government, health is a critical service. That is why
our over 80 ambulances, one in every location. Respond within 58 minutes when called so as to save lives - another Maendeleo
Chap Chap program.
We still need various equipment that we are sourcing slowly due
to our limited resources. I welcome friends, from individuals,
NGOs to even Chama groups and Development Partners to join us
so as to set the new standard for public health services in Kenya
and indeed in the whole of the African Continent and to prove
indeed that it is possible. We know and believe, INAWEZEKANA na
ITAWEZEKANA.
Dr. Alfred N. Mutua, EBS
GOVERNOR OF MACHAKOS,
MASINGA
November 3, 2016.