Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has held a high-level meeting with Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and a team from the National Police Service (NPS) to fast-track the operationalization of the newly completed National Police Service Referral Hospital (NPSRH).
The discussions focused on launching the Sh1.2 billion facility, which is expected to improve access to specialized healthcare services for police officers and their families, in line with the government’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) goals.
The two sides explored possible management models to speed up operations at the hospital, enhance service delivery, and support the overall welfare of police officers.
Duale reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to equipping the hospital through the National Equipment Services Programme (NESP), a government initiative that supports county health facilities with modern medical tools to strengthen service delivery.
Construction of the 150-bed capacity hospital began in 2021 under the Ministry of Defence. The facility also includes parking space for four ambulances, 20 staff vehicles, and 50 vehicles for the public.
Once fully operational, the NPS Referral Hospital is expected to reduce the number of police referrals sent to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), which has long suffered from congestion.
KNH, Kenya’s main national referral and teaching hospital, serves nearly five million Nairobi residents—47 percent of whom rely on it as their primary healthcare provider. Over time, the facility has become overwhelmed due to rising patient numbers, inadequate health infrastructure in other areas, population growth, and its relatively affordable services.
To ease pressure on KNH and improve access to care, former President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2020 directed the now-defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services to construct 28 new hospitals in Nairobi’s informal settlements. His aim was to bring quality health services closer to where people live.
“Instead of someone using money to go and seek medical services at Kenyatta National Hospital, they need to access these services at the facilities which are near them,” he said at the time.
The NPS Level Four Hospital is part of that broader plan and is now expected to play a key role in decentralizing healthcare while directly benefiting police officers and nearby communities.
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