Most families in Kenya set up home care in a hurry, usually the day a discharge is confirmed. This checklist is written for that day. It is ordered by what causes the most difficulty first, so if the budget only stretches to the first few items, they are the right first few items.
The home care checklist, in priority order
| Priority | Item | Indicative price |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hospital bed, single crank with mattress | KSh 25,000 |
| 2 | Ripple mattress | KSh 5,000 – 10,500 |
| 3 | Commode wheelchair | KSh 21,000 |
| 4 | Fingertip pulse oximeter | KSh 1,500 |
| 5 | Blood pressure monitor | From KSh 3,500 |
| 6 | Adult diapers, wipes and bed protection | Ongoing, from KSh 1,200 per pack |
| 7 | Walking frame or rollator | KSh 4,000 – 11,000 |
| 8 | Bathroom safety: rails, shower stool, raised seat | KSh 3,000 – 15,000 |
| 9 | Oxygen concentrator, if prescribed | KSh 60,000 |
| 10 | Wound care supplies, gloves and a sharps container | KSh 3,000 – 10,000 |
Why the bed comes first
A hospital bed is not about comfort. It is about height and positioning. At the right working height a carer can wash, change and reposition a patient without bending, which is what prevents the carer injury that ends home care arrangements. The crank sections let the patient sit up to eat and to breathe more easily, and elevating the head is a basic precaution against aspiration in anyone being fed in bed.
The hospital bed guide explains the manual, single crank, double crank and electric options. For most families a single or double crank bed is the right purchase; electric beds are worth it where the patient can operate the controls themselves and regain some independence.
Pressure sores are the thing to be afraid of
A pressure sore can develop in a matter of hours in an immobile patient and takes months to heal. Prevention is a ripple mattress, repositioning every two to three hours, heels floated off the mattress with a pillow, daily skin checks over the sacrum, hips, heels and shoulders, and prompt management of incontinence.
Read the ripple mattress guide before buying. The difference between a bubble overlay and a tube mattress matters a great deal for a patient who cannot move at all.
Getting to the bathroom
The bathroom is where most home falls happen, and the transfer from chair to toilet is the highest-risk movement of the day. A commode wheelchair removes it entirely, which is why it sits third on this list rather than tenth. If the patient can still walk short distances, a raised toilet seat, a grab rail and a shower stool cost very little and prevent a great deal.
Monitoring at home, without turning the house into a ward
For most patients three numbers are enough: oxygen saturation, blood pressure and temperature. A fingertip pulse oximeter, a digital BP monitor and a thermometer cover it for well under KSh 10,000 combined. Write the readings in a notebook with the date and time. When the doctor asks how the patient has been, a two-week record answers the question far better than an impression.
- Agree thresholds with the treating clinician in advance: at what saturation, blood pressure or temperature do you call, and who do you call.
- Keep a medicines list on the fridge, with doses and times.
- Keep a sharps container if anyone is injecting at home. Never a plastic bottle.
- Plan for power cuts if the patient is on oxygen. A backup cylinder is the simple answer.
- Look after the carer. Equipment that saves a carer back is not an indulgence; it is what keeps the patient at home.
What it costs, realistically
A basic home care set-up covering the bed, mattress, commode and monitoring comes to roughly KSh 50,000 to KSh 60,000. Adding oxygen takes it to around KSh 120,000. Spread across the months a patient would otherwise spend in a facility, it is usually the least expensive part of the whole arrangement.
The home care starter pack bundles the core items on one delivery, which matters when a discharge date is days away.
Questions we are asked most often
What do I need first for home care?
A hospital bed and a pressure-relieving mattress. Everything else can follow within a week; those two cannot.
How much does home care equipment cost in Kenya?
Roughly KSh 50,000 to KSh 60,000 for a core set-up, or about KSh 120,000 including an oxygen concentrator.
Do you deliver and set up at home?
Yes. We deliver countrywide and can assemble the bed and set up the mattress and concentrator at the bedside in Nairobi.
Can equipment be bought as a bundle?
Yes. The home care starter pack exists precisely so families do not have to work the list out item by item under time pressure.
Ordering
See hospital beds, mattresses, wheelchairs, bathroom safety and toileting aids and patient care and continence.