Makueni County Government through the Health Department has promised to deal with power outages at Makueni referral hospital in Wote town.
In a letter seen by Mauvoo News, the County Health boss Dr. Paul Masila observed that the generator has become the main source of power due to frequent outages experienced at the hospital.
He refuted claims that on Sunday night during the nationwide power outage, the generator did not have fuel and that a second generator was activated on the same day adding that no deaths were occasioned by the power outage.
“On Sunday 10th December 2023 at around 10.00 pm, there was a power outage at Makueni County Referral Hospital. This was occasioned by a national power blackout. In addition, the automatic standby generator malfunctioned and led to the power outage at the hospital. It was not a fuel issue. The hospital has been experiencing frequent power interruptions from the national grid making the generator the main power source. This has been experienced several times a day, with each outage lasting several hours,” Masila said.
The CECM disclosed that the County government was planning on installing solar to deal with blackouts once and for all adding that funds have already been allocated for the same.
The response comes after locals complained about the hospital lacking power after the blackout putting at risk the lives of people in the ICU and newborns in the newborn unit.
“The department recognizes the critical role it plays in service delivery and will always ensure that contingency measures are in place to provide uninterrupted services to Makueni citizens. The county has allocated funds for installing solar backup in Makueni CRH in the current budget whose implementation is ongoing. This will offer an alternative source of power for the institution. We will be prioritizing budget for automated changeover between the backup generators as well as replacing the main generator which has served the hospital since 2017 to improve the power supply status of the hospital,” read the letter in part.
