Patients get lifeline after renal unit is established in Nyeri - The Standard Digital News (satire) (press release) (registration) (blog) PDF Print
Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua cuts the tape to commission a renal unit at the Nyeri General Hospital. (Photo: Mose Sammy/Standard)

Nyeri, Kenya: It was a big sigh of relief when doors opened at the Nyeri County Comprehensive Renal and Dialysis Centre at the county referral hospital.

Before its establishment, the county referral hospital, whose patients come as far as Nyeri, Laikipia, Kirinyaga, Murang’a and Embu, often referred patients to Kenyatta National Hospital for dialysis.

The facility, which was put up at a cost of Sh38 million, comprises ten dialysis machines and a water treatment facility, a renal laboratory equipped with a fully automated immunochemistry analyser and an electrolyte analyser.

The unit can offer dialysis to 14 patients daily since most of them need the services twice a week.

Patients who previously travelled to KNH to seek treatment can now access affordable analysis closer home.

When Charles Wanjama, who has been living with diabetes for five years, was diagnosed with the renal disease two years ago, his life changed dramatically.

The 65-year-old had to travel to Nairobi twice a week to consult a renal specialist and to undergo dialysis for Sh8,000 a  session.

“When my wife and I travelled to Nairobi, we would spend Sh20,000 weekly on accommodation because sometimes the doctor would be unavailable, or get dialysis on the same day,” he notes.

For Wanjama, the dialysis unit is an answered prayer after two agonising years of waiting.

“I was one of the first patients to be dialysed and I only paid Sh3,000,” Wanjama said.

Jackson Kinyua, who was also diagnosed with renal failure two years ago, needs constant medical supervision.

The 46-year-old who has also lived with high blood pressure for ten years, notes that despite having insurance cover underwritten by National Hospital Insurance Fund, which provided Sh4,500 per session, his condition deteriorated that he could not raise the Sh5,500 needed for his dialysis.

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