Kenya’s medical history is characterised by mission hospitals that were instrumental in treating Kenyan communities and developing the modern system of healthcare we know today. One such institution is Maua Methodist Hospital.
The idea for this institution formed from an annual report compiled in 1918 by Reverend Griffin – the General Superintendent of the East Africa District of the Methodist Church. In the report, the official insisted on the desire for a health institution in the Meru region. The rationale behind it was that attending to people’s physical needs would lead to them better receiving of the word of God. Griffin’s call for a place of healing in the area made quite the impact on the British Methodist Church. But it was not until 1928 that the words in the annual report came to life.
A New Hospital in Meru
Dr. Howard Brassington was the medical missionary from the United Methodist Mission entrusted to oversee the opening of a new medical centre in 1928 on behalf of the church. Over two years, construction took place, bringing what was then known as the Berresford Memorial Hospital into existence. The new institution opened officially on 15th July 1930 and bore the name of Thomas Berresford. Thomas’ parents had provided funds for the building of the hospital after his untimely death at 22 – an event that took place before he could achieve his dream of becoming a medical doctor. His family directed what would have been his university fees to the Methodist Church, and to date, the Berresford name remains at the hospital in the form of Berresford Avenue – the main driveway.
In its early days, the hospital operated within a non-monetary economy, meaning that treatments were paid for using food donations which were used to feed patients. Being a faith-based institution, a chapel was built in 1940 under Dr. Gerard – Dr. Brassington’s successor. His tenure also saw the compound lined with magnificent Jacaranda trees.
Medical Training at Maua
Alongside cultivating faith, training became a key tenet of the hospital’s mission. It was seen as a way to continue developing and creating capacity in the healthcare field. The first C-Section was performed at the hospital in 1942 and the hospital began to offer classes for dressers – staff relied on to bandage wounds and injuries. Slowly but surely, the hospital continued to make a name for itself and began to train nurses.
When the Kenya Methodist Church gained autonomy from its parent church based in the UK, the hospital’s name changed from Berresford Memorial Hospital to Maua Methodist Hospital in 1964 after the town where the hospital is located. The initial vision for a centre of healing continued to reverberate through the hospital’s efforts and outreaches were done in the 1970s to encourage women to deliver at the hospital. These initiatives were bolstered by hospital officials reaching out to chiefs and training community health volunteers as well as traditional birth attendants.
By 1976, the training that had begun around 30 years before had blossomed into a dedicated course for Enrolled Community Nurses. It was run by Sister Meg Bailey and paved the way for the hospital to be approved for training Diploma level nurses in 1996. With a near perfect pass rate maintained year after year, the school began to extend its courses to include health management.
Maua Methodist As We Know It
Far from an institution that rests on its laurels, Maua Methodist continued to seek development throughout the 2000s. It expanded immensely to include services such as orthopaedic surgery, eye care and palliative services and is now a regional referral hospital.
Aside from services, the once 50-bed capacity hospital grew to accommodate around 200. It serves over 600,000 people in the central Kenya region making it a go-to medical centre in the area.
Coming into the 21st century has meant crafting a vivid vision of the future and the hospital has situated itself as a champion of the SDG 3 on healthy lives and wellbeing as well as an institution open to partnerships that lead to prosperity. At its core remains the aim to provide quality care and training to contribute meaningfully to the medical landscape of Meru.