Hundreds of Kisii County residents benefitted from a free cancer and orthopaedic screening organized by Indian doctors at the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital (KTRH) that was held on 1st June, 2015.
Specialist doctors from B.L. Kapur Speciality Hospital in India led by Senior Consultant Spine Surgeon Dr. Puneet Giridhar and oncologist Dr Kapil Kumar offered free consultation on cancer and bone defects.
Over 1700 people turned up for the camp but only 550 were screened with 20 cases of cancer suspected and one confirmed.
“We were overwhelmed by the high turnout but this goes to show that our people have good health seeking habits. We regret that the doctors were unable to screen all those who turned up but we intend to have a similar exercise soon,” said health services director Dr Geoffrey Otomu.
Speaking during a courtesy call on Governor James Ongwae’s office, Dr Giridhar said he had noted a genuine will by the County Government to transform health services.
“We came to have a feel of what the situation is in terms of cancer and spine injuries. We plan to strengthen our partnership in terms of enhancing knowledge and skills as well as exchanging technology. There is need for cross fertilization of ideas,” he said.
Oncology specialist Dr Kapil Kumar asked the County Government to invest more in infrastructure and personnel for cancer treatment saying his hospital would help in training.
On his part, Governor Ongwae said his administration had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with B.L. Kapur and Apollo Group of Hospitals in India to allow for technology transfer and capacity building for medical staff in observer programmes.
“We visited India a year ago and signed an agreement regarding exchange programmes for our doctors and technology transfer. Our plan is to modernize the Kisii Hospital through collaborations lie this one,” added the Governor.
During the medical camp, the specialists showcased latest technology in cancer treatment like use of cyber knife in a Continuous Medical Education for local medical staff.
