All the 47 Counties across the country will have emergency dispatch centres by 2030.
This is according to the initiative by the Emergency Medical Kenya Foundation (EMKF) who have ensured 14 counties across the country currently have infrastructure in place to respond to various emergencies across their territories.
According to EMKF Country director Benjamin Wachira, since inception 10 years ago, the progress on setting of clear policies and laws on Emergency medical services is commendable and shall be blooming and stable by 2030.
“By 20230, we want to be at a place where in case of an emergency regardless of where someone is, they can call a number. Ten years when we started, counties did not have any policies on emergency care. They did not have any public ambulance services. They used to have vehicles to move patients around but no established emergency departments. With the 2017 Health Act, which ensures one has access to critical emergency services the National Government set up the Kenya Medical Emergency Medical Care Policy 2020-2030,” he stated.
“Currently 15 counties have clear policy for emergency medical care with eight counties running ambulance services well-coordinated. We have 265 departments identified with 165 having been reached. It is not slow considering we started from zero. It is clear that emergency medical services is something we all need regardless of our community social status,” he added.
This comes even as various counties have appreciated the partnerships with EMKF to set up dispatch centres through systems and infrastructure.
With most of the emergencies varying from road accidents, maternal medical emergencies among others, counties through the partnership have been able to sort them as others are in the process of formulating policies over the same and put the appropriate infrastructure in place.
Presenting at the Emergency Dispatch Services Conference, Kakamega County shared that they are in the process of setting up the appropriate policies with the process being at the County Assembly stage even as they have shared a budget proposal over the same.
The Western based unit is expected to soon have a dispatch centre with their own ambulances in place as they are currently in contract with private ambulance providers, which they termed expensive.
Marsabit County Executive Committee Member for Health Services Malicha Boru revealed that even though they were affected by the withdrawal of donors like USAID in their mobile medical centres, through the partnership with EMKF, they have been able to reach the patients in need of emergency services cutting the rates of Postpurtem Hemorrhage and other maternal emergencies which he shared have always been many than others.
“As you recently saw, Marsabit is doing better even after the exit of donors whom we depended on. With EMFK in place, we have been able to respond to maternal emergencies which are really high especially among teenagers. Its been working well and we hope to even put more infrastructure in place through the budget approvals by the County Assembly,” he stated.
Speaking at the same conference, Machakos Chief Officer for medical services and health infrastructure Rashid Kala stated that the county which is strategically located in between three major highways has been able to respond to accident emergencies which are always over 4000 casualties a month (30 per cent of their emergencies) with four emergency centres at their level four hospitals and the Machakos level 5 hospital.
He revealed that they even support neighbouring counties like Kajiado and Nairobi City through their Centres.
EMFK has also enabled Turkana, Kilifi, Elgeyo Marakwet, Mombasa, Kwale, Taita Taveta among others come up with emergency plans, train their medical stuff among others as the devolved governments set the dispatch Centres through the system they provide.
For Mombasa, the dispatch centre is expected to be at Tudor Sub-County Hospital as the county revealed that the budget for the same in the current fiscal year was passed and shall be implemented before the next emergency services conference which is held annually.
In the next two years, EMKF expects that over half of the counties shall be having the system in place as they head for 100 per cent by 2030.’ EMKF is also expected to help the Social Health Authority set up a National Ambulance Dispatch Centre through its ambulenci App system which will see SHA make medical emergency evacuations for free in 24 hours.
