County Government of Laikipia

By David Serem

Efforts to bring specialized healthcare closer to Laikipians have received a major boost following the entry of fresh specialists from Cuba.

The two specialists, a nephrologist and ophthalmologist(kidney and eye specialists respectively), are set to offer relief for dozens of patients who have had to be referred to faraway facilities in Nyeri and beyond for these services.

One might term the move as historic, as this is the first time Nanyuki town welcomes a kidney specialist, and is set to revolutionize care for kidney patients in both early and late stages of the disease.

The development marks a big milestone in the quest to broaden the range of specialties in the hospital, which will also see it have an orthopedic surgeon join the team early next year.

Kidney specialists are critical in managing the conditions of people who are on dialysis. They offer reviews on the progress of the patients in response to the dialysis sessions.

As it stands, LHS Nanyuki depends on nephrologists from Nyeri for the weekly patient reviews. With the cost going for Ksh. 2500 per patient and paid in cash, this is not only costly but also limiting in terms of reach to other patients with early stages of kidney complications.

The services of these specialists also extend beyond the renal unit, benefiting those living with diabetes, hypertension, or other ailments that affect the kidney.

The entry of the kidney and eye specialists is timely, coming at a time the government is implementing the LHS program, where backward referral is a key component. The specialists are expected to greatly enhance the success of patient reviews in outreaches, with the timely interventions set to have a ripple effect on community wellbeing on matters of health. Access to early and frequent reviews will ease the impoverishing spending on families that are associated with treating advanced ailments.

The new doctors join a team of other specialist officers including renal and ophthalmology nurses and clinical officers to improve outcomes of service delivery.

With these developments, we are edging closer to being a complete tertiary hospital where we can train medical officers on internships.said Dr. Timothy Panga, LHS Nanyuki CEO.

Chronic kidney disease clinics, kidney injuries, dialysis, reviews for kidney transplant hemodialysis.

Expansion of dialysis unit from the current seven to 23 units.

Reversing acute kidney complications before progession to chronic.