Mathare-Korogocho hospital to be ready end of February

The newly built Mathare-Korogocho Level Five Hospital will be ready by the end of February ahead of its commissioning in April, the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) has said.

The hospital that is located in Mathare North is expected to begin admitting patients in May. The NMS Director General, Major General Mohamed Badi, said the agency has already made a request to the national government to set aside some money to equip the hospital, with the procurement process underway. 

He said added that NMS is negotiating with the National Treasury to ensure the health facility is up and running before the end of the current financial year in June.

“We are hopeful that, once the infrastructure is completed next month, we will start employing doctors, nurses and other staff,” said Maj-Gen Badi.

He said the hospital will have all the facilities of a Level Five hospital including its own mortuary, kidney dialysis centre, theatres and an intensive care unit (ICU). The 100-bed county referral hospital will be run by a chief executive officer who must be a doctor by profession.

The facility will be at the same level as the Mama Lucy Hospital which is also being upgraded. The hospital is also expected to have more than 300 medics.

Mr Badi said that the hospital, together with 24 others which are nearing completion and will soon be operational, will reduce the burden on the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), as well as Mbagathi, Mama Lucy and Pumwani hospitals.

According to a 2014 report commissioned by the county government, there are 76 public health facilities in Nairobi, including health centres and dispensaries.