INAUGURAL EMERGENCY CARE SYMPOSIUM HIGHLIGHTS THE CRITICAL STATE OF EMERGENCY CARE IN KENYA
29th June 2017, Nairobi ………The Inaugural Emergency Care Symposium, held today at Safari Park Hotel, brought together over four hundred and twenty-seven delegates (427) for the first time ever, to discuss the status of
emergency care in Kenya.
The key sponsor, National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), represented by Dr. Ambrose Lugho, the Director of Operations and Quality Assurance noted that “The healthcare system in Kenya is plagued by the lack of resources,
where the majority of county hospitals in Kenya lack well-equipped trauma centers with lifesaving equipment or lack adequate staff trained in emergency medicine”.
He, however, said that in line with the provision of achieving universal health coverage, the NHIF had enhanced its benefits package to strengthen effective Care management and develop a referral system.
“NHIF has rolled out an emergency road services package, where the Kenya Red Cross has been contracted to offer ambulatory services, to all fully paid up scheme beneficiaries countrywide,” he said. “The aim is to deliver emergency care which includes; emergency initial care on site, evacuation to the nearest contracted healthcare provider for treatment and the transportation and transfer of a sick member or dependents for treatment to nearest NHIF declared hospital”.
The representative of the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Simon Kibias, Head, Emergency Medical Care and Disaster stated “This symposium depicts the need for a sustained effort to strengthen institutions for a multi
sector coordination of Emergency Medical Care in Kenya.”
He further noted that the development of a Kenya Policy on Emergency Medical Care was in the final stages. “The policy seeks to establish a working emergency medical care system that will improve access, delivery and funding of emergency medical care with the aim of ensuring that every Kenyan has the highest attainable standard of emergency health care.”
Other sponsors for the symposium include E-Plus Medical Services, Phillips, Medsurge, Optimed, AMREF Flying Doctors, and JANST Healthcare.
ENDS
For further information or queries, kindly contact Diana or Emily on emkf@emergencymedicinekenya.org
NOTES TO THE EDITOR:
Emergency Medicine Kenya Foundation
The Emergency Medicine Kenya Foundation (EMKF) is a non-profit organization founded in January 2015 dedicated to the development of emergency care in Kenya (and other resource-limited settings) through
education and research.
EMKF has ran several successful initiatives in Kenya including; development of emergency care guidelines (www.emergencymedicinekenya.org/algorithms) and provision of emergency care equipment to over 50 rural and urban facilities across the country (www.emergencymedicinekenya.org/projects/)
This symposium is part of its initiatives to develop career emergency care providers in Kenya and promote local research that improves the outcomes for patients needing emergency care in Kenya, given the limited availability of
resources.
This first ever Emergency Care Symposium has been put together to achieve the following;
- Demystify what emergency care is
- Provide the latest information on best practices in emergency care
- Champion the commencement of an advocacy lobby to further issues related to emergency care at a national level – hopefully resulting in a national policy on Emergency Care
SPONSOR BRIEFS
National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF)
National Hospital Insurance Fund is a State Parastatal whose core mandate is to provide medical insurance cover to all its members and their declared dependants (spouse and children). The NHIF membership is open to all
Kenyans who have attained the age of 18 years and years and have a monthly income of more than Ksh 1000. NHIF has 61 fully autonomous branches across the country. Each of these branches offers all NHIF services including payment of benefits to hospitals or members or employers. Smaller satellite offices and service points in district hospitals also serve these branches.
Emergency Medical Services (E-Plus)
Emergency Plus Medical Services is a company fully owned by the Kenya Red Cross Society, whose core business is the provision of advanced prehospital emergency medical services. In its 3 years of existence, E-Plus has been providing pre-hospital medical care and transportation to patients with illnesses and injuries on a Commercial basis as well as under Corporate Social Responsibility, in fulfillment of the mission and mandate of The Kenya Red Cross Society.
