Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral & Research Hospital (KUTRRH) is facing a critical medical crisis and is exploring the possibility of recruiting foreign doctors to address the situation.
The 650-bed facility is currently grappling with a strike that has left numerous patients, including those requiring urgent cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, stranded.
Prof. Olive Mugenda, the Chairperson of the KUTRRH Board, highlighted the severity of the situation during a briefing with journalists on Tuesday.
She expressed concerns about patients who have already commenced chemotherapy but are now unable to continue due to the ongoing strike.
“Some people have begun chemotherapy and are at home and for some need these treatments urgently,” Prof. Mugenda emphasized.
In response to the pressing healthcare needs and in consultation with the board, KUTRRH has decided to seek assistance from foreign doctors. Prof. Mugenda noted that the government has granted permission for the recruitment of international medical professionals to provide immediate support to the hospital.
So far, the facility has enlisted the services of four oncologists from Ethiopia, Malawi, and Tanzania, allowing some critical services to resume.
According to Prof. Mugenda, with the new hires, the facility was able to conduct approximately 40 chemotherapy sessions on Monday.
“They are clinical oncologists from East Africa, they are trained and are already doing a good job,” She added.
Regarding the future of the hospital’s striking doctors, Prof Mugenda stated that the majority of them had received dismissal or suspension letters.
She stated that KUTRRH, which has a capacity of 250 doctors, was only operating with 82 due to other employees going on strike.
“We do not know if the striking doctors will be back, those who stopped working we served them with letters of dismissal and some have suspension letters,” she added.
“The ones we hired will remain even if the others come back, and if they do come back, those with suspension letters will need to face a disciplinary committee,”
