The government has approved 23 additional critical works at the Mama Rachel Ruto Referral Hospital in Mutuini, Dagoretti South, in a move aimed at ensuring the facility is fully operational.
This comes ahead of the planned September commissioning that will elevate the facility’s capacity in handling healthcare demands in Nairobi.
The approval was made during an inspection tour of the hospital by Defence Principal Secretary Dr Patrick Mariru, who assessed the progress of the Kenya Defence Forces-led construction project and directed contractors to complete the newly approved works within three weeks.
The hospital, formerly Mutuini Level IV Hospital, is undergoing a major transformation into a specialist referral facility under a partnership between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Defence, with the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) overseeing construction.
Dr Mariru said the additional works are necessary to guarantee the hospital opens with all critical support infrastructure in place to offer quality specialised healthcare services.
Among the newly approved works are the installation of additional medical gas systems, storm water drainage, a power and generator house, medical waste pre-treatment chambers, a gas house, relocation of solar panels, a holding area to serve as a temporary morgue.
There is also an external ablution facilities, laboratory and pharmacy worktops, delivery room water points, drainage systems, laboratory acidic waste disposal channels, external signage, a nurse call system, landscaping, vacuum installations and air conditioning in operating theatres.
For security purpose,there is a CCTV control room that will safeguard the operations of the hospital.
Additionaly,there is cabling, carpentry works and construction of a new perimeter gate complete with security installations.
Engineers on site informed the PS that while some works, including specialised medical gas installations and the holding area, could require up to six weeks because of procurement timelines, other components such as signage and security installations can be completed within two weeks.
However, Dr Mariru instructed contractors to prioritise all the approved works and ensure the entire package is delivered within three weeks to avoid delaying the hospital’s planned opening.
The latest approvals mark another milestone in the revival of a project that had stalled in 2021 before the Ministry of Defence tasked the Kenya Defence Forces with completing the facility.
Once operational, the referral hospital is expected to ease pressure on Kenyatta National Hospital and other public health facilities in Nairobi.
By offering quality and specialised maternal and child healthcare, renal services, advanced diagnostic imaging, surgical care and emergency treatment,the facility is poised to be of great importance to Dagoreti and neighbouring sub-counties.
The hospital has already received key medical equipment, including dialysis machines.
With the additional works now approved, project managers say the facility remains on course for its tentative September launch, subject to completion of the remaining works and final inspections by the Ministries of Health and Defence.
