Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital is the only public (government institution)

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociat ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. It has capacity for 1500 patients and is located near the slum area of

Mathare Mathare is a collection of slums in Nairobi with a population of approximately 500,000 people; the population of Mathare Valley alone, the oldest of the slums that make up Mathare, is 180,000 people. Mathare is the home of football teams Mathare U ...

district of

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city prope ...

History

Mathari Hospital was founded in 1910 by the

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 a ...

authorities of

British Kenya British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. A smallpox isolation centre was redesigned and became the Nairobi Lunatic Asylum.The facilities were segregated with African patients, who constituted 95% of the patients, being kept in the worst conditions. They lived in very overcrowded ''bomas'', which were the traditional form of housing in Kenya. The facilities provided for

Asians Asian people (or Asians, sometimes referred to as Asiatic people)United States National Library of Medicine. Medical Subject Headings. 2004. November 17, 200Nlm.nih.gov: ''Asian Continental Ancestry Group'' is also used for categorical purpos ...

were somewhat better with the best conditions being reserved for

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (20 ...

. Up until independence all psychiatrists, senior doctors and nurses employed at the hospital were European. Mathari hospital is a specialized National Referral, Training and Research Public Institution in mental health in Kenya. It's located along west of Nairobi along Nairobi-Thika Road. Mathari hospital, which has a bed capacity of 1500(a third of which are reserved for females), is Kenya's premier psychiatric hospital, and is the national psychiatric teaching and referral hospital. The institution admits patients with severe psychiatric disorders who cannot afford private services and are considered too disturbed to be managed in other public facilities or in the community. Its catchment area is largely the Nairobi urban area where the facility is located, together with the close rural and urban environs to the city.

References

Psychiatric hospitals in Kenya Hospitals established in 1910 {{Kenya-struct-stub