Prime
Kanyerezi: The brain behind Kampala Hospital
Richard Kanyerezi
What you need to know:
For almost seven years, Kanyerezi together with others had to wait as they had no finances to implement their idea. Peninah Asiimwe takes you through the story of Kampala Hospital and one of its key founding members B.R. Kanyerezi
In 2000, Richard Kanyerezi together with other colleagues worked their heads and built on an idea that could later morph into one of Uganda’s best and well facilitated hospital.
The hospital – Kampala Hospital - according to Kanyerezi, was built from scratch, “due to the fact that none of us was that rich.”
“The start was really slow but it later picked and has become what it is today,” he says.
However, the idea could not start due to lack of money but Kanyerezi together with other collegues including Jack Luyombya, Edward Kigonya, Nelson Senkatuka, John Nsibambi, Leo Kibirango and Ntwatwa Kyagulanyi, among others, pooled resources to kick off seven years later. “The idea of Kampala Hospital was born in 2000 but we started in 2007 due to lack of finances,” says Kanyerezi.
“We had to personally invest in the project and even secured loans to make it what it is today. Slowly, we have been in position to increase the capacity of the hospital and soon we shall be accomplishing the 100 bed capacity,” he adds.
Key sections at the hospital
A woman walks through one of the entrances at Kampala Hospital. Photo by Rachel Mabala
The hospital has a child clinic, dental clinic, an echo laboratory, pathology unit and an imaging unit.
Kanyerezi’s main objective was to provide an alternative with a facility that would offer reasonably good services at reasonable prices.
Why Kanyerezi chose to do medicine?
“As a child in Mityana Primary School, we had a hospital nearby with one doctor called Kiwalyanga. I always admired Kiwalyanga and his children and every time I saw him, I felt I wanted to be like him and that is when I set out to be a doctor,” says Kanyerezi.
Background
At 81, Kanyerezi has now retired and is helping out at his hospital in areas that specifically need his expertise. He has four children, two of whom are practicing doctors.
What Kanyerezi prides in
Currently, Kanyerezi is working with a team of vastly experienced staff whose emphasis on professionalism is second to none. “It gives me great pleasure to be working with such people, whose professionalism brings a smile on our patients’ faces,” he says.
Achievements
Kampala Hospital was the first hospital to obtain a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine and Computed Tenography (CT) scan in Uganda. And for almost five years it stayed the only one, giving it the advantage of operating a fully functional radiology department.
The hospital also has a cardio laboratory, which diagnoses cardiovascular diseases and a surgpath laboratory for pathology tests.
With new extensions another wing has been added to increase the hospital’s holding capacity with another executive wing to be opened in June.
In addition to a number of laboratories, the hospital has three operating theatres with an endoscopy and colposcopy theatre.
Who is Kanyerezi?
Born 81 years ago, Kanyerezi is the second born in a family of 12.
He attended Mityana Primary School before moving to Mityana Secondary School for his Ordinary Level education.
He later moved to Kings College Budo for his high school certificate before joining Makerere University to study medicine.
After university, Kanyerezi immediately moved to the United Kingdom to do a Membership of Royal College of Physicians for three years.
In 1967, he came back to Uganda to lecture medicine at Makerere University but again moved to the US in 1969 to pursue a doctorate at Havard Medical School.
When he came back, he continued lecturing at Makerere University until 1980 when he went to Kenya for three years.
Between the same times he also stayed in Saudi Arabia for more than three years but came back to Uganda after seven years and established a private clinic.
Some of the specialties at Kampala Hospital are
Anesthesiology.
Hematology.
Ophthalmology.
Internal medicine.
Surgery for both general, neural
and plastic.
Obstetrics and gynecology.
Orthopedic.
Oncology.
Psychiatry.
