Residents of Nakuru are set to benefit from a radiotherapy unit which will be operational in February next year.
Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui said the Sh500 million state-of-the-art unit will help the high number of patients struggling to access Radiotherapy services.
Kinyanjui said hundreds of patients are forced to use more money to travel long distance to seek services in other counties.
The Governor said patients currently travel to Nairobi to access radiotherapy services at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) or in Eldoret at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH).
He said cancer patients from Nakuru and neighbouring counties will now access the services at the Nakuru- Level 6- A Hospital once the project is complete.
“We want to reduce the health risks related to travelling long distances to access radiotherapy services elsewhere, including the cost of transport and time taken before one is attended to due to unavailability of the facility locally,” said Kinyanjui.
He said the project is being funded by the National Government under the Universal Healthcare Coverage initiative.
County Executive Committee Member for Health, Dr Zachary Gichuki who welcomed the project said Nakuru will be the third county in Kenya to offer radiotherapy services adding that Nakuru already has an oncology complex.
“We are already offering cancer patients chemotherapy services at the now fully operational oncology unit. Those requiring chemotherapy treatment no longer travel to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) and the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) Eldoret,” said Gichuki.