Kenyatta National Hospital cannot claim readiness for medical emergencies while its Accident and Emergency Department lacks equipment needed to keep critically ill patients alive.
The Auditor General’s findings for the year ended June 2025 expose a troubling gap between the country’s largest referral hospital’s responsibilities and its emergency care capacity.
The shortages are alarming: 16 ventilators, 15 cardiac monitors, 16 suction machines and 12 advanced intensive care beds.
Eight functional infusion pumps reportedly remain unusable because the hospital lacks the required giving sets.
This is not merely a question of procurement. It is about planning, maintenance and ensuring available equipment can actually serve patients.
In a mass-casualty incident, such deficits could constrain the hospital’s ability to stabilise several critically injured patients simultaneously.
The audit does not establish failure during a specific disaster, but preparedness cannot be measured by what a hospital owns on paper. It must be judged by what is available when lives hang in the balance.
Chief executive Richard Lesiyampe cites expanded theatres, reduced surgical waiting times and advanced cancer equipment as evidence of progress. These investments matter, but they do not answer the specific deficiencies identified by the auditor.
KNH must publish a time-bound plan to address the gaps, replace obsolete equipment and secure essential supplies. The Health ministry and Parliament must demand accountability.
Patients cannot wait for another audit to expose preventable weaknesses in emergency care.
