Kenya to offer post-graduate kidney specialists training from September
The State last year bought Sh38bn medical machines, including dialysis units for county hospitals to relieve pressure on the KNH. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
The move will see Kenya produce nephrologists (kidney specialists), urologists (kidney surgeons) and renal nurses who are currently groomed in the US, UK and South Africa.
Kenya will start offering post-graduate training in kidney treatment from September as it moves to create a pool of professionals to handle specialised medical care.
The planned Master’s degree programme will see the country produce nephrologists (kidney specialists), urologists (kidney surgeons) and renal nurses who are currently groomed in the US, UK and South Africa.
“We have over the years built a pool of local experts to impart these skills. We already have a curriculum in place,” said Anthony Were, former head of renal unit at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).
Dr Were is the deputy director of the State-backed programme which has attracted the support of the African Development Bank.
“We are still calculating the cost aspects of the training,” he said.
The courses will be offered in University of Nairobi’s college of health sciences campus, near KNH – the country’s main referral facility.
Kenya’s public hospitals have for long suffered from an acute shortage of medical specialists even as thousands of patients continue to flock the facilities due to lower charges.
Private facilities are better equipped and staffed but charge higher fees, locking out many poor households.
The country has only 23 nephrologists in the public sector against the four million Kenyans diagnosed with some form of kidney disease.
Dr Were said that the maiden class of the post-graduate courses will involve 10 nephrologists, 10 urologist and 10 renal nurses with the number set to grow in future.
President Uhuru Kenyatta last year launched a medical scheme to supply county hospitals with Sh38 billion worth of health equipment, including kidney dialysis machines, creating a huge demand for specialists.
About 8,000 kidney patients are on dialysis sessions at KNH and they each spend Sh5,000 per session.
The treatment costs between Sh7,500 and Sh9,000 per session at private hospitals.
The post-graduate courses are part of the proposed East Africa Kidney Institute in Nairobi that will offer kidney training to students from the region. It will be built from next year.
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