Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) has an 18-bed isolation centre and an intensive care unit with more than 30 beds that can be converted into an isolation facility at short notice to handle a potential Ebola outbreak, its Chief Executive Officer, Dr Philip Kiptanui Kirwa, has said.
Kirwa said the hospital was prepared to manage Ebola and other emerging infectious diseases, citing its isolation facilities and supplies from the Ministry of Health.
Speaking during a visit by a National Assembly committee to the Eldoret-based facility, Kirwa said the hospital had received commodities, including personal protective equipment (PPE), to support the isolation and treatment of suspected cases and protect healthcare workers.
He said MTRH had so far handled about 10 suspected Ebola cases, all of which tested negative. Among them was a person quarantined after being identified as a contact of an imported Ebola case reported in Nairobi. The individual had travelled on the same plane as the person who tested positive and was placed under quarantine for 21 days before being released after testing negative.
Kirwa said the hospital’s isolation centre, established with support from the World Bank, was equipped to accommodate patients requiring quarantine, isolation and treatment.
The parliamentary committee’s visit also focused on the hospital’s expenditure and implementation of projects under the 2025/2026 financial year.
The delegation met Kirwa and senior hospital officials to review budget implementation, including recurrent expenditure and development projects.
Members of the delegation said their assessment showed that most of the funds spent had been properly utilised and that ongoing projects were progressing well.
They said the visit was part of Parliament’s oversight responsibility to ensure public funds allocated to the hospital were used appropriately.
MTRH serves patients from the Rift Valley and western Kenya, as well as neighbouring countries, including Uganda.
The delegation said it would proceed to Kisumu as part of its oversight tour of national government hospitals.
