Patients in western Kenya requiring open-heart surgery are set to benefit from improved access to specialised treatment after Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) acquired a new heart-lung machine.
Hospital officials say the German made Essence Perfusion System, manufactured by Livanova, will allow the Kisumu based referral hospital to expand its cardiac surgery programme and reduce the need for patients to travel long distances for treatment.
The new system replaces the older Stockart 5 machine and is expected to support more advanced cardiac procedures.
“We decided to go for the latest machine in the market because these machines come with various technologies and very advanced systems that can be used for several years to come,” said Dr Juma Odoro, a cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon at JOOTRH.
Many patients from the Lake Region Basin have had to seek treatment at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret or Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, journeys that can be physically demanding for people with severe heart conditions.
Hospital officials also say the new service will significantly reduce treatment costs.
Open heart surgery in private hospitals costs between Sh1.7 million and Sh 1.9 million.
At JOOTRH, the procedure will cost between Sh400,000 and Sh 700,000 because the public hospital does not charge for human resource costs.
The hospital says patients registered under the Social Health Authority (SHA) will have the procedure fully covered, with the scheme reimbursing about Sh 950,000 for each cardiac surgery.
Dr Sadia said offering specialised cardiac services closer to home would ease both the physical and financial burden on patients and their families.
“When these patients have to travel to Eldoret, to Nairobi, or to the Coast to get care, they get tired after walking 10 metres, 50 metres. It’s a deep ask,” he said.
JOOTRH plans to begin by performing up to 10 open-heart surgeries each month, with a target of about 120 procedures in its first year.
The programme will be supported by three resident cardiothoracic surgeons, cardiac anaesthesiologists and specialised cardiac nurses.
Hospital staff are undergoing training on the new equipment, including factory-based instruction in Germany and local operational training for theatre personnel.
JOOTRH says it will initially work with experienced external cardiac surgery teams before transitioning to fully independent operations.
According to hospital officials, Kenya requires nearly 10,000 open-heart surgeries each year, but existing facilities are able to perform only between 1,000 and 1,500 procedures annually.
They say the additional capacity at JOOTRH will help reduce that gap and improve access to specialised cardiac care in western Kenya.
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