By James Wakahiu
The founder of Mount Kenya University (MKU) has hinted on putting up a multimillion ultra-modern teaching and referral hospital in an ambitious programme to boost its school of medical science, which last week released his first cohort of 24 doctors since it was accredited to offer medical related courses in 2014.
Prof. Simon Nyutu Gicharu who is the university founder and chairman, board of directors, said once put up, the multimillion facility will be open to members of the public for quality healthcare services.
“This is part of the institution’s plan to assemble one for best medical training and research centres in the region,” he added.
This will be the second health related investment the university is putting up to boost his medical school, having built a Sh300 million Ultra-Modern anatomy laboratory cum funeral home at Thika Level Five Hospital in 2014, Gicharu said.
Putting up more health facilities will boost healthcare in the country by supplementing government facilities, he added
“We need to encourage the well-to-do people to think about increasing the number of health facilities in this country and on my own behalf, I want to invest in a teaching and research hospital. We have done so at Thika Level Five where we invested in an anatomy laboratory that paved the way for an enrolment of our first bunch of medical students six years ago,” Gicharu stated.
“Am having a cherished dream of supplementing government efforts of providing universal health care to all Kenyans. Am looking forward to the actualization of this dream, sooner than later,” Prof. Gicharu said.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council in 2014 allowed the university to offer Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBchB).
Gicharu said, to be allowed to start the programm, the university had to put up the over Sh300 million well-equipped Anatomy laboratory dabbed General Kago Funeral Home cum Anatomy laboratory through a public- private partnership with Thika Level Five Hospital, Kiambu county where the medical doctors have undergone practical training.
The health facility that is under the County government of Kiambu has a modern embalmment unit, classrooms and a human anatomy laboratory that are used by the universities to undertake practical training for its Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBchB) programme students.
“We were the first University to roll out an accredited Bachelor of Science, Clinical Medicine and Community Health and the first Private University to offer a Pharmacy programme at a time when this seemed impossible. The process was not for the faint hearted but our investments in putting up training facilities and hiring competent faculty ensured that we were successful,” Gicharu noted.
Recently, Gicharu said, the institution was ranked the best in Kenya with a score of 82 percent in an inspection conducted by a joint team of technical health experts from the East African Community Partner States National Medical and Dental Practitioners Regulatory Councils.
MKU council chairman, Prof David Serem said: “It is worthwhile some seven years back to have heavily invested in financial, physical and human infrastructure capable of producing medical doctors that our dear nation deserves at this point in time. This was foresightedness and very visionary leadership whose fruition is what we are witnessing today.”
The newly appointed Vice –Chancellor, Prof Deogratius Jaganyi said the varsity would use its medical faculty to support the government in actualising its “Kenya Health Policy 2014 – 2030” by the Ministry of Health through continued offering of quality training and research.
“As stipulated in the Social Pillar of Kenya Vision 2030 as well as under the SDGs 2030, the private sector’s role cannot be over-emphasized. And this is where and how we come in as a university so that we can supplement the government’s support in health care and especially in capacity development,” the Vice Chancellor added.
