Kenyatta National Hospital will put up a three-storey, 62-bed hostel worth Sh150 million for cancer out-patients next year.
The facility that will be built with support from the American Cancer Society, will accommodate patients who flock the hospital from other counties for radio and chemotherapy.
About 3,000 patients take up treatment at the hospital each year but many have had to sleep in corridors to beat queues for treatment, which in on a first come-first-served basis.
Esther Munyoro, head of the Pain and Palliative Care Unit, said most patients have never been to Nairobi and prefer to sleep in the corridors, which they deem safer than the streets.
“Most of our patients feel unsafe around the city because of what they have heard. For fear of being mugged, they put up with the cold and feel safer in the KNH corridors,” she told the Star by phone on Sunday.
Patients welcomed the project saying the facility will allow them sufficient rest while awaiting treatment.
"We have been undergoing a lot of trouble in receiving treatment. We have a reason to smile,” said
John Mutua.
The Health ministry said about 40,000 new cases of cancer are reported in Kenya annually. At least
27,000 patients succumb to the disease each year.
From 2011 to 2014,
cancer deaths rose by 23 per cent, up from 17 percent in 2010.
Health CS Cleopa Mailu said two weeks ago that the government will not allow KNH to keep on sending cancer patients away.
Mailu said every patient who goes to the hospital must be attended to and not neglected.
"KNH is congested but I would rather have cancer patients sleep in corridors awaiting treatment," Mailu said during a health summit at State House.
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The National Assembly Lady Spouses Association said it will put up a tent at KNH to help reduce the congestion.
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