By Suleiman Mbatiah
Expectant mothers at Bondeni Sub-County Hospital will no longer have to be rushed across the busy Nakuru CBD in search of lifesaving surgeries. The hospital has successfully carried out its first caesarian section, a breakthrough moment for maternal health in the 70 years old health facilities.
The historic procedure on Josephine Wangari was performed in the newly equipped theatre, which cost Sh7 million to set up. Leading the team was Dr. John Murima, the Chief Officer for Health and a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology.
For Dr. Murima, the occasion was not just a medical milestone but a step toward reshaping how expectant mothers and their newborns in low-income neighborhoods of Bondeni, Kivumbini, Kaloleni and other areas access care.
“Mothers who previously had to go to Nakuru County Referral and Teaching Hospital for maternity services can now receive care right here in Bondeni,” he said after conducting the successful delivery.
He encouraged residents to make full use of the facility, assuring them that services such as maternity surgeries will be provided at no cost to patients registered under the Social Health Authority (SHA).
Dr. Murima said the county plans to replicate the Bondeni model in other Level Four hospitals, ensuring more families access safe, reliable maternity services closer to home, reducing travel and improving maternal and child health outcomes
County Health Executive Roselyn Mungai said the success at Bondeni follows deliberate staffing changes earlier this year, when the county posted both a medical officer and an anesthetist to the hospital permanently.
“Let us encourage our communities to develop confidence. These are qualified specialists, qualified medics, who are here to offer support to them. We want to make sure that the capability of this low-volume level four hospital grows,” she stated.
Bondeni Maternity handles about 100 deliveries each month, with nearly half of the cases previously referred to the county referral hospital. The new facility now enables safe deliveries locally, easing congestion and improving maternal care access.
In her manifesto and the 2023–2027 County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP), Governor Susan Kihika pledged to strengthen healthcare by upgrading facilities, hiring and deploying workers, and sustainably increasing funding for both preventive and curative services.
“We have today operationalized the theatre initially built in 1985 but remained unused until we revived it as part of a broader initiative to allocate resources to stalled projects,” the Governor stated with enthusiasm.