Mama Margaret Uhuru Hospital: Leaps and gains

By Effie Sande Mboya & Jacqueline Ngure

Mama Margaret Uhuru Hospital (MMUH-KNH) Annex is a level six (6) Paediatric Hospital that opened its doors on Friday, March 18, 2022. It is located in Kariobangi North, Embakasi North Constituency, Nairobi County. It is managed by KNH as one of its satellite facilities.

Newsline spoke to Dr. Mutua Mbuvi, a Medical Officer at MMUH, who has been at the hospital since it was handed over to KNH as an Annex, to get his perspective on how far the facility has grown from inception.

What was the experience of setting up the facility from scratch?

When the facility was handed over to the KNH management, by H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, it barely had any equipment and had a few members of staff. We were informed that MMUH’s mandate was to be purely a specialized pediatric care hospital. I found it to be an ideal place to work as I have a passion for pediatrics.

MMUH was taking care of all patients, it was not well known, and the majority of patients were adults. We began creating awareness about the hospital and its sole focus on children, with the ultimate goal of establishing it as a fully-fledged specialized pediatric hospital.

In two months, due to a change of status to a specialized paediatric hospital, there was a low turnout.

Consequently, we organized a medical outreach at the Kariobangi North Chief’s Camp Grounds. The outreach attracted more than a thousand (1000) people, both adults, and children. Thereafter, the outpatient department attended to 50-60 patients a day, and the inpatient wards registered full admissions. Since then, we have tried to consistently maintain those numbers, although we experience fluctuations.

What are the prevalent conditions and cases encountered?

There is a very large pool of patients who have sickle cell disease with at least three admissions every week, followed by malaria and gastroenteritis (diarrhea and vomiting) as well as severe acute malnutrition.

What are the possible causes of these conditions?

These conditions, specifically diarrhea, and vomiting, are caused by a lack of proper sanitation. Given the location of the hospital and the greater area that surrounds it, access to clean water and waste disposal is a challenge, so many children get predisposed to diarrhea and vomiting.

Secondly, the community around the hospital comprises low social economic status individuals. Some babies are not exclusively breastfed for up to six months as recommended, resulting in cases of malnutrition because mothers are forced to resume their casual jobs when the babies are still very young; thus started on a complementary diet as early as two months.

Which challenges do you face internally or externally?

The paediatric specialized services offered at MMUH are beneficial to the community; however, the patients complain that the charges are beyond their economic power. This, therefore, leads to most people buying overthe-counter drugs for their children instead of seeking medical help.

The other challenge is that, due to low social economic status, it becomes difficult to explain to the parents/guardians of the patients the need for admission. Recently, a child was presented to us quite late with severe malaria, and upon inquiry about the delay, the parent responded that the urge to fend for the family superseded any other obligation.

How we could improve?

To provide proper paediatric specialized services, we are aspiring to offer fully equipped theatres, Intensive Care/Critical Care, Renal Unit, as well as Newborn Unit. Over and above all this, we need to be supported with specialized equipment, additional manpower, and capacity building to bridge the gaps we are experiencing. This will ultimately pin MMUH at the apex of specialized pediatric health care in the local, national and international spheres.

What is the impact of KNH on health care service delivery?

KNH has stamped a mark on quality specialized healthcare providers not only in Kenya but globally. The pool of specialized doctors, nurses, and human resources, both clinical and administrative, gives us an edge over so many other facilities.

Furthermore, since we are a public hospital, our services are subsidized and NHIF covers most of the services that are offered at MMUH and KNH. This is quite significant, especially when you realize the majority of Kenyans struggle to cater for their medical bills. According to Michael Moore, “the number one cause of poverty and bankruptcy is medical bills.”

How can MMUH have a direct impact on the community?

The Hospital needs to focus on corporate social responsibility and prioritize the provision of free medical outreaches with emphasis on quality specialized pediatric care, in addition to the provision of easily accessible clean water, safer ways to dispose of waste, and health education.

The community should be encouraged to register with National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) to enjoy the benefits accrued such as Linda Mama, an ambulance in case of emergency, radiotherapy, and surgical services to name but a few. There is a need to keep liaising with neighboring hospitals to encourage referrals of cases we are equipped to handle.

I believe we have a significant opportunity to impact the community that is dwelling here, not just with specialized pediatric curative services, but also by beginning to look at preventive avenues.

MAIN PHOTO |Thellesi Co Over view of Margaret Uhuru Hospital - KNH Annex

Dr. Mutua Mbuvi, Medical Officer at MMUH

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