A technician attends to a bunker at the Kenyatta National Hospital's cancer wing.  [Photo/Daily Nation]

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Patients at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) have further been thrown into the receiving end following the failure of two key machines heavily important for the institution's operations.

The hospital which serves as not only the biggest referral health institution in the country but in the entire East African region,  is currently operation without a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan and a Laparoscopy Tower Machine, a situation that has now forced the institution to refer patients to nearby institutions with the equipment.

According to the Daily Nation, the  machines stalled operating a year back exerting extra pressure on patients, especially those battling cancer, with a good example being Paul who is struggling with a stage 4 bladder cancer.

He was diagnosed with the disease 4 years ago but the situation has since affected his treatment as he has to undergo regular minor surgeries every few months to remove cancerous tumors, a process that has suffered a setback due to the absence of the tower.

''I underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy in 2015 to remove the tumors but they recurred hence doctors recommended surgery every time the tumors recurred,'' he is quoted by the paper.

''The last time I went to KNH , the attending doctor told me he had borrowed the camera from another hospital to conduct the surgery. When i went for the service again in subsequent months, the doctor said he could not borrow the camera hence referring me,'' added Paul.

The service costs something between 200,000 and 340,000 in equipped private facilities, a sum apparently unattainable to many Kenyans who rely on public health facilities.