Hospital to set up three specialised liver care clinics

Approximately 8000 Kenyans die annually due to liver complications, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) data.

Most of these liver complications, however, go misdiagnosed, until later stages as most symptoms –diarrhea, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, fever and stomach pains – pass off as common gastrointestinal ailments.

Treatment centers are few in the country, and this scarcity has driven up the cost of treating liver disease. Often, patients have to fly to India for treatment.

To deal with this shortage, Mediheal Group of Hospitals and Yashoda Hospitals (India) have signed a deal to set up three liver care clinics in the country.

Speaking during a press briefing in Nairobi on Sunday, the Mediheal Group Chairman S.R. Mishra said that the hospitals will cost a total of 250 million shillings, but the services will be offered at a subsidized cost.

“We lose a lot of money every year by transporting patients to India for treatment. We want to stop that,” said Mishra.

The centers will focus on diagnosis, treating patients and training medics on how to best handle liver disease.

Last year, Kenyatta National Hospital installed the country’s first liver disease facility.