At 8:00 the next morning, a driver from the hospital picked us up (the two urologists and me) from the hotel (where they were staying. I'm in a much cheaper, but quite cheery guesthouse). The hospital was only a five minute drive away.
Kenyatta National Hospital is the largest hospital in East Africa, and until a larger one was built in Johannesburg, it was the largest in Africa. Built by the British (like many large structures in Kenya), it was actually called King George VI Hospital before independence and was renamed for Jomo Kenyatta, the first President of Kenya. KNH is the main teaching hospital for Kenya's medical students as well.
We were met by Dr. Kanyi, the urologist in charge of the week’s workshops. We then B-lined to the office of the “Med Supe”, or head of the hospital. Here, we were presented to the Med Supe, and he welcomed us to the hospital and gave us permission to work there. We then posed for a photo op, which will probably end up in the IVUmed newsletter, and maybe some Kenyan newspaper. I’ll be on the lookout. I have then take a few shots with my camera, but they all came out extremely awkwardly.
Dr. Kanyi walked us to the ward where the patients awaiting surgery were staying. It was a big room with many beds lined up along the walls, probably about 50 beds in all, with a few tables for nurses right in the middle. Though it looks cramped, it’s actually much roomier than the wards in Msambweni. Mothers and their boys arrived over the weekend, and they’ll stay here through the week waiting for the surgery, and beyond during recovery.
Though things were on a much grander scale at KNH than the hospital in Msambweni, many things were similar. The buildings are in similar states of disrepair. Once structures are built here, I don’t think maintenance or renovation is ever considered, so there are a great many buildings that were once nice, and could be nice again, but money to do the renovation can never be found. The wards are similarly arranged, and primarily run by nurses, though I did notice that doctors visited a lot more frequently. Finally, waiting lists for surgeries is very long, with many patients waiting a year for elective surgeries.
Stay tuned for some surgery action tomorrow!
Goodness, this is fascinating on many levels. First of all, your picture looks so incredibly official and with the bit longer hair and the stern demeanor, you have enhanced gravitas. A bit intimidating really, and so the evolution into doctor-hood moves into phase II. I would certainly trust that you knew what you were talking about!
ReplyDeleteMost interesting is the lack of infrastructure maintenance, since all things move toward entropy and then what? Also interesting is the large role that nurses play here, and that too is occurring in the US. Finally, I believe that long waiting lists for elective surgery will also occur in America based on the current arrangement. I'm looking forward to the surgical action report!
Hugs and love,
Linda/Mom
hello! i have students in the classes i sub for with very interesting names. i thought of you guys today because i had a student named kenyatta. it was a boy.
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