Reports that the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) has been allocated Sh645 million for construction of burns and paediatric centres are welcome.
It is indeed surprising that this is the first time the country will be constructing its first dedicated burns centre. Currently, the burns unit at the hospital is limited and patients are normally moved to other wards to recuperate which limits the control of infections.
The unit currently admits 1,200 burn victims annually and is unable to cope with the congestion. The new facility is expected to go a long way in ensuring that the congestion is eased and will also allow the medical personnel to handle infections adequately.
Once completed the 85-bed burns facility will have 12 Intensive Care Unit beds and six high dependency unit beds.
Given that health docket was devolved to the counties in the new constitutional dispensation, we aver that the county governments should dedicate more funds to building their own centres instead of solely relying on the referral hospital in the capital city. That is the only way the government can ensure that services are taken to the grassroots.
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