The main public hospitals offering cancer treatment recorded sharp swings in patient waiting times in the year ending June 2025, with Kenyatta National Hospital facing the heaviest blow after major radiotherapy machines failed repeatedly.
New data shows that cancer patients at the country’s largest referral facility waited far longer for radiotherapy than planned, raising fresh concerns over access to life-saving care.
Figures presented to the Treasury indicate that the average wait for radiotherapy at KNH rose to 37 days, up from 18 days the previous year, far above the target of 17 days. The State Department for Medical Services said the jump was caused by constant equipment failures and growing demand for treatment.
“In the financial year 2022/23 and 2024/25, targets were not met. This was due to frequent equipment breakdown and increased demand for radiotherapy services at the hospital,” said the State Department for Medical Services in health sector reports to the Treasury.
KNH has struggled with recurring breakdowns of its radiotherapy machines, especially the Linear Accelerator, a key part of cancer treatment. The long queues for radiotherapy came even as chemotherapy services improved, with wait times dropping to 2.57 days from 3 days, well below the set target of 12 days.
“Targets met and overachieved. The hospital introduced 24-hour outpatient chemotherapy services as well as the implementation of the patient navigation programme,” said the department on chemotherapy wait times at KNH.
The total number of oncology sessions offered at KNH, covering both chemotherapy and radiotherapy, fell sharply to 22,873 from 43,216 in the previous year, underscoring the strain caused by the Linac setback.
Breakdowns also disrupted other specialised services. The hospital’s cardiothoracic unit missed its surgery targets after the image intensifier and Cath lab equipment failed. Heart surgeries dropped to 1,045 from 1,293 in the previous period.
The delays were not limited to KNH. Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital reported radiotherapy wait times of 70 days, slightly higher than 69 days the previous year and well above 46 days recorded in 2022/23. Even so, MTRH increased its external beam radiotherapy sessions to 21,482 from 17,014, surpassing its planned 10,150 sessions.
“This was attributed to continued scheduling of patients and timely treatment planning, and by operationalisation of the second Linac radiotherapy machines, employment of two more medical physicists, and timely procurement of radiotherapy source,” said the State department.
MTRH also recorded a rise in combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy sessions, reaching 1,492 from 1,092, boosted by steady availability of oncology drugs and working equipment.
At Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital, radiotherapy wait times improved to 18 days, down from 60 days the previous year. However, the hospital still missed its 12-day target due to a growing number of patients seeking care.
“The targets were not achieved due to the inability to meet the demand for radiotherapy services. The hospital capacity for radiotherapy (one LINAC machine) is stretched to the maximum,” said the State Department.
Chemotherapy wait times at KUTRRH rose to 14 days, more than double the previous six days, wiping out gains made earlier when a new shift had helped cut waiting periods.
The number of patients receiving chemotherapy and radiotherapy at the facility fell to 19,561 from 21,640, partly linked to challenges in the supply of chemotherapy drugs.
