For a cancer patient in Garissa, specialised treatment has long meant a journey of several hundred kilometres to Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi. Hospital managers now say that could change within weeks.

Garissa Level 5 Teaching and Referral Hospital is preparing to be upgraded to a Level 6 national referral facility, with its chief executive saying he wants the new status in place "within the shortest time possible", preferably before the end of the year, according to The Star.

CEO Mahat Sheikh said management was working with the Ministry of Health and other partners on the buildings and equipment needed, describing the upgrade as a historic milestone for the region.

What is being built

The hospital is developing several specialised units as part of the upgrade:

  • A cancer centre expected to serve Garissa, Kitui, Mwingi, Tana River and parts of Meru
  • A regional blood processing centre, which Sheikh said has already eased access to blood for public and private facilities
  • A medical waste incinerator

Silas Muriuki, who represented the Garissa County Commissioner, said bringing specialised care closer to home would ease the financial strain on families who now depend entirely on referral hospitals in Nairobi.

State team promises to clear bottlenecks

The update came during an inspection by a multi-agency government team led by Musa Machoka, secretary for Government Programmes and Projects Delivery in the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary.

"Wherever there are bottlenecks, we will intervene to address them," Machoka said. "Healthcare is one of the key pillars of this administration." He also said the Social Health Authority was improving access to care.

The team toured other national projects in the county, including:

  • The newly completed Garissa-Tana bridge
  • Police housing units and immigration offices
  • The stalled Mkono Market and Garissa Main Market
  • Garissa University hostels and the North Eastern National Polytechnic
  • The affordable housing project and the County Aggregation and Industrial Park

A long-running push

The upgrade has been in the works for months. In July, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the government planned to elevate the hospital to a Level 6 national teaching and referral facility, The Star reported, and local MPs have also pressed for the change, according to the Kenya News Agency. President William Ruto has also listed Garissa among hospitals earmarked for Level 6 status.

Neither the hospital nor the ministry has given a cost or a firm completion date. But for residents of the North Eastern region, where specialised services are scarce, a fully equipped Level 6 hospital in Garissa would shorten one of the longest roads to treatment in the country.

Photos: The Star / Stephen Astariko (Musa Machoka speaking to the press in Garissa; the inspection team at Garissa University). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.