Oliver Musembi

After months of delay, Kenyatta University Teaching and Referral Hospital will be inaugurated next week.

Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki who toured the 650-bed facility on Friday announced that it will open its doors to the public on October 28 when it shall start admitting patients.

However, the hospital will have 150 beds operating in the initial stage specifically for cancer and renal patients.

“I am satisfied that the facility will be fully operational in a week’s time and that’s why I came here personally to monitor and evaluate the progress,” said the CS, who was accompanied by the hospital board chair Prof. Olive Mugenda and the chief executive Dr. Andrew Toro.

Kariuki said the hospital will be 100 per cent referral with 40 doctors and more than 100 other medical staff on call.

“We are sensitising the surrounding community that this will not be a walk-in and walk-out facility,” she said, adding that the oncology department will be 100 per cent operational while the renal unit will be running at 50 per cent capacity.

She said issues of management of the facility have been ironed out after differences had emerged between the university and the Mugenda-headed board.

Some members of the university had questioned the composition of the hospital board and felt that the university was sidelined in the management structure.

But the CS reiterated that the facility was established under the Ministry of Health through a Gazette Notice, despite it being hosted by KU.

Mugenda regretted the delay in opening the hospital which was scheduled to have admitted patients from August this year.

“We regret the delay which was inevitable as we had to test the equipment and hire members of staff, she said.

President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to officially preside over the inauguration ceremony.