KNH emergency wing ill-equipped to handle mass casualties - audit
An audit of Kenyatta National Hospital reveals significant shortages in critical medical equipment, including ventilators and cardiac monitors. These deficits raise concerns about the facility's capacity to manage mass casualty incidents.
Why it matters
The findings highlight systemic infrastructure challenges in public healthcare systems, which directly impact emergency response capabilities during crises.
Kenyatta National Hospital, the country’s largest referral facility, is facing significant shortages of critical medical equipment in its Accident and Emergency Department, raising questions about its ability to handle mass casualties.
A review by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu for the financial year ended June 2025 found deficits in life-saving equipment, emergency response tools and critical-care facilities needed to stabilise patients during medical emergencies.
The shortages ranged from 20 per cent to 100 per cent of the department’s operational requirements, leaving gaps in equipment used to manage critically injured patients and those requiring urgent interventions.
“The department is significantly under-equipped relative to its operational requirements,” Gathungu said in the report tabled in Parliament.
The findings point to a hospital struggling to match its equipment capacity with the demands of emergency care, including situations involving large numbers of casualties who need immediate treatment.
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