Kenya: Stretched ICU facility limits critical heart surgeries

Joel Wanyingi, 55, constantly suffered from severe headaches and dizziness, and was often plagued with a feeling of tiredness even in bed. He recuperates at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), Nairobi, after heart surgery last month. Inadequate ICU facilities has forced some Kenyans to seek treatment abroad. Although cardiac surgery is also performed in two private city hospitals -Nairobi and Mater - most patients opt for KNH where the costs are heavily subsidised. KNH's director, says there are over 200 heart patients on the hospital's waiting list. But the number of operations that can be performed are tied to the availability of space at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), he says.