By Sandra Blessing
Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) has moved and continued to strengthen its specialised spine care.
This has been made possible through its dedicated Spine Theatre, providing patients with complex spinal conditions and injuries access to specialised surgical services.
The Spine Theatre brings together a multidisciplinary team of specialists and healthcare professionals to provide comprehensive care, while also supporting training, mentorship and research in spine surgery.
The programme has benefited from the SIGN Spine Program, which selected MTRH as its first spine programme site in Kenya.
The initiative supports specialist training, mentorship and capacity building in the management of spinal trauma.
Among the specialists contributing to the development of the programme is Dr Geofrey Ngetich, an orthopaedic surgeon and SIGN Spine Scholar.
Dr Ngetich undertook specialised spine fellowship training through the SIGN Spine Program at Hamilton General Hospital and McMaster University in Canada before returning to Kenya to contribute to the development of spine care at MTRH.
Since returning from his fellowship training, Dr Ngetich has performed close to 500 spine surgeries at MTRH, averaging about 18 procedures per month.
The majority of these patients have experienced favourable outcomes, reflecting the growing capacity of the hospital to provide safe and effective specialised spine surgical care. Undesired outcomes are largely due to blood clots or obscure cardiac-related health events during the peri-operative period.
The growing volume of spine procedures reflects the increasing demand for specialised spine services at MTRH and the hospital’s expanding capacity to provide complex spinal surgical care closer to patients in the region.
MTRH Chief Executive Officer, Dr Philip Kirwa, said the growth of specialised spine services reflects the hospital’s commitment to investing in highly skilled human resources for health and advanced healthcare services.
“Our focus is not only on infrastructure and equipment, but also on developing and retaining specialised human resources for health. Through strategic partnerships, specialist training programmes and continued support from the Government, we are strengthening the capacity of our teams to provide complex and specialised care closer to our patients,” the CEO said.
The CEO noted that partnerships such as the SIGN Spine Program complement Government investment by providing opportunities for specialised training, mentorship, knowledge transfer and professional development.
The continued development of the Spine Theatre is expected to further enhance the hospital’s capacity to manage complex spinal conditions and provide patients with timely access to specialised surgical care within the region.
