The University Health Services started in 1972 as an outpatient clinic for students. Members of staff and their dependants were attended to by appointed private doctors in Nairobi up to 1979. The Government funding to the University operations was sufficient up to the late 1980’s. However with introduction of structural adjustment programs in the 1990’s, the government funding to the University was reduced thereby affecting provision of various services including health care.
The UHS offers both out-patient and in-patient services. The main staff and students’ clinics are in the Student and Staff Hospital situated in main campus off State House Road and are open for 24 hours daily. Satellite clinics are situated in various campuses of Kikuyu, Upper Kabete, Lower Kabete, Kenyatta National Hospital, Chiromo, Parklands and Kenya Science Teachers’ College. The satellite clinics are open from 8.00am to 5.00pm. There is also a mobile clinic stationed in the Main Campus next to the Jomo Kenyatta Memorial Library, operating from 4.30 pm to 10.00 pm. Other outpatient services that are not available at UHS are outsourced from leading hospitals and other health services providers in town.
In-patient services are offered at the Students and Staff Hospital, Kenyatta National Hospital and other major hospitals. Staff admission into these facilities is determined by the Terms and Conditions of Service for various cadres.
The overall management of University Health Services is under the Chief Medical Officer. Under him is an array of highly skilled medical, paramedical and support staff.
The internal and external environments in which the University operates has continued to change. This means new opportunities and challenges have surfaced. It is in light of this change in circumstances that it became necessary to review the Strategic Plan and recast it for a further five years for the period 2013 -2018.
