Economy

New cancer machines offer patients ray of hope

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A therapist operates a radiotherapy machine at the Kenyatta National Hospital. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Cancer treatment is set for a major boost as the government moves to roll out a Sh38 billion medical equipment leasing programme in all counties.

The Health ministry will equip 94 hospitals, two from each county, with cancer equipment to cut the long wait by patients who have to endure up to one year to receive treatment.

Five international companies won the medical equipment leasing tender advertised last year. The leased machines will enable counties to manage ailments like cancer and kidney failure that are on the rise in Kenya.

American company, General Electric (GE) bagged the largest proportion of money from the deal. It will install cancer and radiology equipment— such as digital X-rays, mammogram machines and ultrasound units — worth Sh21.8 billion in the 94 hospitals.

Chinese firm, Mindray Biomedical Limited and Esteem Company from India, will install theatre equipment costing more than Sh12 billion in selected hospitals.

About 245 new dialysis machines will also be installed in 49 county hospitals at a cost of Sh2.2 billion by an Italian company, Bellco SRL.

The growing cases of diabetes and hypertension have contributed to a rise in kidney illnesses with public hospital bearing the brunt as thousands seek dialysis treatment.

READ: Cancer care and treatment is ‘not beyond us’

Philips Electronics, a company from Netherlands will also equip eleven Level 5 hospitals with six intensive care unit (ICU) beds and three High Dependency Unit (HDU) beds, in addition to monitoring, support and resuscitation equipment for critically ill patients at a cost of Sh3.3 billion.

Health Secretary James Macharia said the companies supplying the medical equipment to the county hospitals will also service and maintain them.

“We are letting the experts deal with that. And we will only pay for the services offered by the equipment,” he said.

Mr Macharia said once the medical equipment are in the county hospitals, the cost of treating chronic conditions such as cancers and renal diseases should come down.

The Health ministry hopes to provide free treatment to cancer patients once the equipment is installed in the hospitals and after county governments set aside money to buy drugs.

Free treatment will come as relief to thousands of patients. Of the approximately 41,000 Kenyans diagnosed with cancer annually, about 28,000 die, according to the World Health Organisation Global Cancer statistics.

Despite the rising number of cancer cases, Kenya has only 12 oncologists in public hospitals, but the government is betting on technological innovations to link these experts to the patients across the country.

The ministry plans to first set up nine centres of excellence for cancer treatment in former provincial hospitals.

Thereafter, the e-health equipment installed by GE will allow oncologists seated in these centres to remotely receive medical cancer images sent by clinical officers from various county hospitals.

They will then interpret them, offer diagnosis and recommended treatment options for patients.

“Through this technology we will be able to reach many patients even with the few doctors that we have,” he said.