KNH Referral: No walk-in patients will be served at the Kenyatta National Hospital from July this year. This is according to a declaration that was made by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) Director-General Mohamed Badi.

Major Badi said that from July, the only cases that will be handled at the country’s main hospital will be referrals. “In conjunction with the Ministry of Health, we have been able to produce a policy document on referral system in Kenya. Nairobi County will be used as a guinea pig as the first county to implement this strategy to ensure that KNH becomes a teaching and referral hospital only,” said Maj-Gen Badi.

He added that the metropolitan authority is working to bridge the gap the ban on KNH will create by opening 24 new Level 2 and 3 hospitals. “We are working hard to ensure that all the hospitals in informal settlements and disadvantaged areas are completed by the first of June and are operational by the end of June because the deadline for closure of KNH to walk-in patients is the first week of July,” Badi said.

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In addition, Major Badi revealed that the Mbagathi Hospital will be renovated to help decongest Kenyatta National Hospital. “Procurement and tendering process for Mama Lucy hospital’s expansion is already complete and soon the contract will be awarded to a contractor to build the extension. All these new developments will significantly reduce the number of patients rushing to KNH,” he said.