Success as Eldoret hospital conducts complex surgery

Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), Eldoret has successfully conducted complex and highly specialised surgeries to remove tumours from two liver cancer patients.

 Surgeons at the hospital which was recently declared the best institution nationally in occupational safety and health in collaboration with Moi University and Peruvian Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplasicas (INEN) carried out the lifesaving surgeries.

MTRH Chief Executive Officer Dr Wilson Aruasa said such surgeries were previously conducted outside the country.

 “We laud our team of medical experts for the landmark achievement. As a hospital, we will continue to focus on providing quality healthcare for Kenyans from all walks of life,” Dr Aruasa said.

 One of the beneficiaries was a 30-year-old man, with liver cancer from Busia county who had a 16x8cm sized tumour with a life expectancy of about three months if not removed.

Patient mortalities

 “We are proud to announce that the patient has since been discharged from the ICU after successful tumour resection and is progressing well,” said Dr Aruasa. 

 According to the medic, liver cancers account for the second largest number of cancer patient mortalities in the world with approximately 782,000 new cases annually.

 The team also conducted a surgery on a 43-year-old woman from Uasin Gishu County with two giant vascular tumours of the liver using an innovative cost saving technique. The patient has already been discharged and is recuperating well.

 The technique, according to medical experts, involves a combination of diathermy and normal saline (cost less than $1) as a substitute for Tissue link (average cost $500).  Dr Aruasa said the collaboration between the three institutions is aimed at enhancing the capacity for the surgical treatment of HCCs and Liver related ailments.

 The Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services (DOSHS) under the state Department of Labour and social protection recently declared MTRH the 2023 best overall institution across all sectors that included the manufacturing, Service, Jua Kali among others.

 Occupational health and safety are the areas of public health which focuses on illness and injury trends in the workplace.

 The declaration was made during the commemoration of the International Day for Safety and Health at Work, held in Kisumu County. “We take good care of occupational safety and health issues that are relevant to our staff and our clients, in this case patients. We do this by ensuring a safe workplace for all our staff, from the security perimeter wall, HD CCTV surveillance, both internal security and a patrol base from the National police,” said Dr Aruasa.

Protective equipment

 He said the staff at the facility, the second largest after Kenyatta National Hospital, are provided with personal protective equipment relevant for various cadres and an elaborate comprehensive insurance cover   provided by NHIF for both inpatient and outpatient.

 “We also take care of the mental and spiritual welfare of our staff. Currently we have three churches, a mosque and Hindu Temple in less than a kilometre from the facility,” explained Dr Aruasa.

 Occupational safety and health are fundamental rights under the International Labour Laws (ILO).

 Experts in the field use this knowledge to develop and implement strategies and regulations aimed at limiting hazards that could lead to physical or mental harm.

 MTRH boasts of a mental health and rehabilitative services directorate that also provides services for the hospital staff other than the clients drawn from the rest of the country and neighbouring countries.