The Kenyan coast is known for its pristine sandy beaches complemented by views that simply take your breath away. However, there is a fraction of history that may escape memory, given the focus on the scenery. This area’s little-known past has to do with some of the earliest developments, one of which is the Old Mombasa Hospital building.
The Start of Something New
This building of old has a unique claim on the history of Mombasa County and the nation. But the story of this monument goes back more than a century.
In 1891 the Imperial British East African Company (IBEACo) was administering Mombasa as the main British port. The company received a donation to set up a hospital but opted to purchase an existing two-storey bungalow on Azania Drive (present-day Mama Ngina Drive) and transform it into a health institution. While the size of the building only had a 12-bed capacity, it had potential. Upon completion, it was named The English Hospital with Dr. W. H. Macdonald – a former employee of IBEACo and registered doctor – as the Chief Medical Officer.
The project team handed the operations of the facility to the Holy Ghost Fathers of the Roman Catholic Church. And that year the hospital opened its doors to its first patient who, unsurprisingly, was European.
At the time, the European population in the colony stood at 300 – and as the hospital was developed with Europeans in mind, so it became the go-to health centre.
Gradual Capacity and Equipping
As expansion was top of mind, catering to the market was also essential. However, running a health institution meant some basic necessities such as power were included. In 1910 the hospital was connected to the electrical grid as plans to scale were underway. Then in 1912 maternal services were incorporated into the hospital’s amenities by virtue of a maternal unit and nursery. However, there was one key aspect that both the project management team overlooked: the unit was facing the newly constructed Mombasa Golf Course – and so was prone to a lot of wind. This made it far from ideal to accommodate expectant women, new mothers and newborns. And so the unit remained inoperable.
Lack of a steady source of electricity continued to be a setback – even after the Mombasa Lighting and Power Company had its feet firmly on the island. But this was resolved by the late 1920s and the hospital even purchased its first refrigerator, giving it an upper hand in biomedical preservation. Development continued gradually: an ambulance came in 1940, making access to the hospital easier for those unable to walk or with serious emergencies. By 1950 the Hospital had a new wing and had increased its bed capacity to 70.
A Long Road to Inclusion
Growth was compounded by a stint of name-changing. The European Hospital became Katherine Bibby Hospital in honour of the hospital matron at the time. And in the lead-up to independence came another wave of change. As inclusion became the theme of the season, the hospital gradually began taking in patients from different racial backgrounds. Finally, in 1980, as a part of a campaign to correct the colonial history of the facility, the hospital was renamed once more and became The Mombasa Hospital.
Currently, the institution is owned by the Mombasa Hospital Association and is a not-for-profit entity. And even with its fairly new look and systems, the old building still stands as a testament to past times. In 1997 it was gazetted as a national monument.
Truly, the Mombasa Old Hospital building is a whetstone of the preservation of medical history. It honours the past moments of Mombasa as a pioneer medical centre.
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