Relief as Brimaxa Hospital Opens in Busia County

By Okong’o Oduya

Busia County, Kenya: Patients in Busia County will no longer need to make long trips to Eldoret or Bungoma to seek the services of Intensive care unit (ICU), Computed tomography Scan (CT- Scan) and High Dependency Unit (HDU) after Brimaxa Hospital opened its doors in Busia town.

Patients seeking the said services in Busia County for a long time have had to be referred from Busia-based hospitals to either Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret or Life Care in Bungoma for medication.

According to the hospital Manager Mr Innocent Situma, Busia being a rural county is facing numerous health challenges where patients are forced to incur a lot and travel for a long distance to seek proper medication where some unfortunately meet untimely deaths before getting to their destination.

“Busia like any other rural county, is facing myriad challenges and health challenges are one of them. It is when we sat down as a hospital and arrived at the decision to open a branch here. We are coming with all the needed facilities such as ICU, HDU, and CT-Scan facilities. Patients in the County will no longer be required to travel to Bungoma, Kisumu, or Eldoret to seek those facilities,” he explained

Mr. Situma noted that as an institution they aim to make health treatment in the County affordable, challenging other private health facilities in the county to follow suit.

“Our driving mission is to be the drivers of affordable health care in the region. We have come up with a good model that will cater for the rural health facilities and it is our belief that through this model other private health facilities will follow so that they will be able to offer affordable health services to the patients.” He noted.

While launching the Busia branch Mr. Situma revealed that they have partnered with other hospitals in India and Turkey to bring in experts to handle cancer-related complications, a move he termed as will solve health issues that have been forcing patients to fly to India for medication.

“We have partnered with Hospitals in India and Turkey to bring specialists here to handle spinal surgeries, and cancer patients and address complicated health procedures, a move that will reduce cases where patients travel abroad for medication,” Said Mr Situma

In partnership with Alupe University and Kenya Medical and Training College, Mr. Sitruma noted that there are plans underway to start Brimaxa hospital school of health sciences to train medics in Busia County.

“Possibly in the course of next year, we are going to launch Brimaxa hospital school of health sciences. We are in the process of acquiring the most modern anatomy laboratory, and we are going partner with Alupe University and Kenya Medical Training College to train doctors and nurses in Busia,” he noted.

The former Siaya governor Mr Cornell Rasanga who was present during the launch appealed to the National government to enable the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to work with speed to reduce the time and resources patients spend while seeking medication using the NHIF card.

“I would like to appeal to the National government let the NHIF system be made to work effectively so that those who rely on the NHIF card to seek medication can do so in the shortest time possible,” he said.

According to Mr Rasanga, there is a need for the health sector to be financed well by National governments adding that despite health being devolved, the National government is still controlling a section of it.

“One of the biggest problems that we face in the health department is financing it. Despite health being a devolved function, we need to fund it properly. Currently, there are some functions in the sector that are still under the National government worth about 3 billion, which will translate to sh400M for each county and if that amount of money is added to Busia County it will transform the department not just in Busia but the whole nation. It would be necessary for the National government to devolve those functions, that are otherwise doing nothing at the National level,” he stated.

The managing director of Brimaxa Hospital Mr Elias Abdinoor noted that the hospital will provide quality and affordable health services not only in Busia but also to patients from the Eastern part of Uganda, including Jinja, Mbale, and Tororo who are either forced to travel to Kampala or Nairobi for medication, adding that plans are underway that in the next three months they will elevate the facility to level five hospital.

“The services we have brought here will not only serve the people of Busia but even those from our neighboring Uganda, being that Busia is along the border. We have seen them traveling to Kampala and Nairobi in search of medication but with this facility, they will not be required to travel that long and as you have been told, plans are underway in the next three months to make this hospital a level five facility,” he noted.

Elizabeth Adhiambo, a Busia resident, welcomed the hospital adding that it is a relief to Busia people who have suffered for many years seeking medication in other towns such as Nairobi, Eldoret, and Bungoma to seek certain health services such as CT- scan and ICU services.

“As you all know patients in Busia have really suffered a lot by traveling to other towns seeking medication, but with Brimaxa Hospital in Busia offering those services there will be no need to travel in those areas. The facility has services such as CT-scan and ICU that we have been seeking in those other towns,” she noted.

Mr. Lambart Ogochi representing the office of Busia woman Representative promised to support the hospital, adding that people of Busia have lost lives on the way to hospitals outside Busia county due to long distances, and those who make it to the hospitals arrive when the situation is complicated and end up dying while undergoing treatment.