The construction of a multimillion-shilling special eye hospital in Kisumu has been commissioned by Lions Club in partnership with Uzima University.
Project chairman Ramesh Mehta said the Kisumu Lions Sight First Eye Hospital will cost about Sh700 million.
The project expected to be complete within 15 months was mooted 10 years ago but implementation was delayed due to lack of land.
The hospital will have serve more than 80 inpatients and more than 400 outpatients daily.
Mehta said the modern facility will serve Western Kenya and the lake basin region which is currently underserved.
Currently, people from the region have to travel all the way to Nairobi for eye treatment.
“By bringing the hospital to Kisumu we can definitely be able to serve the population of the region,” he said.
Mehta, who is a past Lions district governor, said the eye hospital to be built on a five-acre piece of land at Uzima University will be used as a teaching and referral eye hospital that will also handle emergency cases of eye ailments.
Upon completion, the facility will offer comprehensive eye care including refractive correction, optical services, surgical intervention for cataracts, retina and glaucoma management.
“The state-of-the-art fully fledged hospital will have modern equipment for treatment of any eye ailments,” Mehta said during the groundbreaking ceremony.
The facility will support laboratory and pharmaceutical services as a one-stop point of care for all patients.
He said the hospital will offer the whole gamut of optometry services, from provision of contact lenses and glasses to medical diagnostic services.
“We want to deliver to all our patients the highest quality eye care on a par with the best in the world. No need to leave the Western Kenya region,” Mehta said.
The 100-bed capacity facility will have three operation theaters, seven examination rooms and eight rooms in the private wing .
Mehta said there is room for expansion to offer dental and other services.
Retired Catholic archbishop Zacchaus Okoth said the hospital will be used for research by Uzima University.
He said the Catholic Church donated the five acres for construction of the facility which is expected to handle emergency and referral cases within the region.
Edited by Henry Makori
