Hospitals Upgrade Facilities to Enhance Safety

Kenyan health authorities are making strong moves to improve patient safety by upgrading key hospital infrastructure and systems. Following a deeply concerning security breach at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), the Ministry of Health announced measures to enforce stricter visitor access controls across all national referral hospitals. Visitors will now be screened at entry, and access will be limited—steps aimed at restoring order, accountability, and trust in public health institutions.
On the diagnostic front, the government has launched a major modernization drive. Under the National Equipment Services Project (NESP), hospitals will now receive vital cutting‑edge equipment—ranging from CT scanners and digital X‑rays to dialysis machines—all under a fee‑for‑service model. This ensures that public health facilities have access to high-end technology without large upfront capital outlays, and that these machines are maintained and serviced over time.
Counties are also reinforcing their health infrastructure. In Siaya, the national government is investing over KSh 50 million per county to upgrade health facilities to Level-3 status. These upgrades include building or enhancing in-patient wings, X-ray departments, and laboratory units—key improvements that directly affect patient safety by enabling better diagnostics, closer monitoring, and more reliable testing.
Additional safety measures are being rolled out across hospital systems. Nakuru County, for example, is installing fibre‑optic internet and LAN networks in its Level 4 and 5 hospitals to support electronic health records (EHR), automated referrals, and real‑time diagnostics. Moreover, in response to previous safety lapses, the Ministry is introducing routine patient safety rounds, anonymous feedback tools, and intensive training for healthcare workers on rights, clinical standards, and risk management.