Some patients need specialised medical care, such as dialysis, cancer treatment, ortho-

paedic care, dental work, among other varied treatments. Medical centres which give

specialised care have specialists and special medical equipment, consequently making

them fewer in number than other medical care facilities. For this reason, patients travel

from home to the medical centre that provides the care that they need. These patients

are not admitted to the hospital but require access to the hospital for long periods of

time during treatment. This medical travel (medical tourism) is limited due to lack of

proper stay facilities. Hotels may be inappropriate, not suitable and inadequate for

patients.

The academic community has extensively explored the planning and design guidelines

for medical care infrastructure however prior studies have failed to evaluate the sup-

port amenities of which the medical industry is a part. Discussions regarding Medical

Tourism have dominated research in recent years in other fields however little research

has been done with respect to its architecture. Filling that knowledge gap, this study

dissects the phenomenon of medical tourism in Kenya and abroad through the liter-

ature reviewed, highlighting a multitude of needs and difficulties encompassing this

issue, while deriving parameters for fieldwork analysis. The author employed architec-

tural sketches, analytical notes, photographs among other methods to collect and later

analyse information which were documented in chapter 4. In culmination, the author

sought to recommend useful architectural insights that could help uplift the quality of

life of these patients.

In summary, this study is an inquiry into whether the appropriate and suitable design

of support amenities - patient hotels - could become an attraction, promoting Medical

Tourism, leading to economic gain, preventing brain drain, facilitate brain gain of spe-

cialists, create employment and save lives.