Major cardiothoracic centre in Bomet nears completion

The Sh4.5 billion facility is designed for both outpatients and inpatients.

by The Star

Realtime05 April 2023 - 10:44

In Summary

Named after the late American evangelist Billy Graham-the Billy Graham Memorial Cardiothoracic Center, construction is currently at 62 percent.
Statistics from the Ministry of Health show there are 35 million people from the continent suffering from heart-related diseases out of which 150, 000 were Kenyans.

A view of the facility at Tenwek in Bomet on April 3, 2023.

Tenwek Mission Hospital in Bomet is putting up what would be the largest cardiothoracic centre in sub-Saharan Africa.

At a cost of Sh4.5 billion, the 176-bed self-contained surgical and training facility designed for both outpatients and inpatients will be one of its kind in the region serving thousands of patients with heart-related problems.

Named after the late American evangelist Billy Graham-the Billy Graham Memorial Cardiothoracic Center, in its third phase, is nearing its completion with 62 percent of the work having been done.

Residential rooms for medical workers and a sewerage system have already been completed.

“The facility will have 52 intensive care units, post-anaesthesia units, six major operating theatres, cauterization suits, five endoscopy rooms and an outpatient clinic,” the hospital’s board Chairman Dr Robert Langat said in a past interview.

It will also have examination rooms, a pharmacy, a lab, a blood bank, CT and X-ray machines, six cardiothoracic theatres, a preoperative holding area, and a 32-bed post-anaesthesia care centre.

Langat noted that once complete they will conduct 2,000 major heart and chest surgeries in addition to performing thousands of endoscopies and cauterizations.

He revealed that the hospital has performed more than 2, 000 surgeries heart surgeries since 2008 but was being faced with more challenges hence the need to put up the facility.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that there are 35 million people from the continent suffering from heart-related diseases out of which 150, 000 were Kenyans.

An aerial view of the facility under construction on April 3, 2023.

Acting director-general for health Patrick Amoth who spoke during the groundbreaking ceremony commended the management for the initiative.

He said, “Lack of a proper facility in the region for cardiovascular patients has seen the country carry out just 1, 000 surgeries yearly as compared to 15, 000 that we should be conducting.”

He stated that about 4, 000 children are born yearly with heart-related diseases.

This, he said, was a result of capacity and the situation in the country.

Amoth said Africa, at the moment, has only one cardiac centre serving millions of people.

The official at the same time disclosed that about 10 billion was being spent annually in transferring patients to overseas countries seeking for treatment cardiovascular and cancer cases and with the facility, a substantial amount of this will be saved.