hospital entrance

The Presbyterian Church Hospital at Kikuyu is one of the oldest hospital in Kenya, having been founded in 1908 by Scottish Missionaries, led by Dr. Arthur, who moved up-country from Kibwezi.   The aim of the missionaries was to educate the young boys and girls as health workers, among other objectives.  

Growing only slowly over the early years from its beginnings as a small first-aid centre, the hospital received a major boost in 1975 from the late President Jomo Kenyatta, who seconded medical staff to the hospital from the Government.  In the same year also, the first ophthalmic work was done at the newly-founded Eye Unit.

In addition, work on diabetes, a condition which brought so many patients to the Eye Unit, expanded in 1993 into a specialist Diabetes Unit aiming at teaching self-management to diabetic patients and their families, and also at improving knowledge and skills among health professionals.

The hospital established the Eye Unit in 1975 and it serves patients from East and Central Africa and also trains medical personnel in eye care.  This has inevitably made Kikuyu Hospital known well beyond the country's borders. In 1993, an orthopaedic unit was set up to specifically deal with orthopaedic problems not related to trauma.  This programme has evolved into a comprehensive Rehabilitation Centre and new facilities for this work were built and dedicated in 1998.

COMMUNITY BASED PROJECT

In 1987 the hospital started a Community Based Health Care (CBHC) department, which was to serve the 15 sub-locations of Kikuyu Division.  The population density varies from the heavily populated sub-locations of Kikuyu Town, Thogoto and Gikambura to the more sparsely populated and rural Karai and Ndeiya.  Some sub-locations are accessible from main roads but others are isolated and accessed only by bad roads which can be impassable in rainy weather.

The projects undertaken by the CBHC department are:

1. Family planning and maternal child health.
2. HIV/AIDS prevention.
3. Community Based Rehabilitation.

The Administration Block	hospital ambulance

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DEPARTMENTS

ADMINISTRATION

MEDICAL SUPPORT SERVICES

• Laboratory
• Funeral Home
• Pharmacy
• Physiotherapy
• X-Ray

CLINICAL

• 24-hours Casualty Department
• Out-Patient Department
• Consultants Clinics
• Children's Ward
• Maternal Child Health Clinic
• Maternity Ward
• Male Medical/Surgical/Orthopaedic Ward
• Operating Theatres
• Female Medical/Surgical/Orthopaedic Ward
• Diabetes Clinic
• Private Ward
• Community Based Health Care Department

patients waiting at clinic

Administration Reception