Knowledge Hub

Q: Can you take us through your journey to becoming CEO of MP Shah Hospital?

Dr. Toseef Din: Let me start with something that always makes people smile: I was born in this hospital. So, in a way, you could say my journey with MP Shah Hospital started 45 years ago. I joined the hospital in 2011 as Head of Finance. A few years later, I became Chief Operations Officer, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was a leadership test for everyone in healthcare, I was appointed CEO. This year marks 15 years for me at the hospital.

My background is primarily in finance, not medicine. I have a master’s degree in financial management, and I am currently pursuing a PhD in business and management, with a focus on environmental sustainability.  I quickly realized that numbers are not very far from healthcare. Numbers represent people. You count lives. You count risks. You make decisions based on numbers. Moving from finance to operations and then to leadership helped me see that this role is ultimately about responsibility. Today, I think much more about human dignity, clinical excellence, and how to build a healthcare institution that leaves something meaningful behind.

Q: Looking back, how did you first choose finance as your profession?

Dr. Toseef Din: About 25 years ago in Kenya, there were fewer career options and not many career counselors or mentors. I liked numbers, and I was good at accounts.

My grandmother was my main mentor. At one point I thought about going into IT, because the internet was becoming very popular. She told me not to do that because I would spend too much time in front of a screen and spoil my eyes. She told me to do accounting.

At the time, accounting was a profession dominated by men, but I loved it. I liked the discipline of it, the fact that in accounting, things must balance. I am a person who values balance, so finance made sense to me.

Q: You are now pursuing a PhD focused on environmental sustainability. Why is sustainability so important to you as a healthcare leader?

Dr. Toseef Din: For me, it comes from continuous learning. I am a curious person. I am always asking why things happen the way they do, how leadership is changing, how AI is changing the world, and how healthcare can improve.  The PhD is not just about getting another degree. It is about asking what kind of legacy I want to leave. In 2019, I launched a sustainability project at the hospital because healthcare is one of the industries that contributes significantly to carbon emissions.

My work focuses on green infrastructure: water conservation, energy efficiency, waste management, and how hospitals can save resources. In a low-resource setting, sustainability is not separate from affordability. If we save resources, we can create more affordable models of care for patients.

I believe leaders should ask themselves: what did I leave behind?

Q: Workforce challenges have been a major theme across FOH discussions. What are you doing to support staff and reduce burnout?

Dr. Toseef Din: We do many things, and I feel fortunate that our board and our staff are open to new ideas. The system is not rigid, so we can experiment.  Every month, we have a prayer day at the hospital, where people come together. We also have an employee support group, which functions almost like group therapy. People can share what they are going through. We have staff market days, where we partner with consumer goods companies so staff can buy basic household items like flour, sugar, and soap at discounted prices. It is very practical, especially when inflation and the cost of living are high.  We also have a mentorship program called Waka, which means “ignite” in Swahili. Our mentors come from within the hospital, and they support colleagues with career progression, financial management, and other life skills.

Q: What have been the biggest changes at MP Shah Hospital since you joined?

Dr. Toseef Din: The hospital has grown significantly. When I joined in 2011, we had 72 beds. Today, we have 217 beds. We had around 250 staff then, and today we have around 1,400. We developed a pediatric hospital, a bone marrow transplant unit, new satellite centers, and expanded our maternal and child healthcare program. We introduced birthing pool options, extended service hours, and grew from one main hospital to three satellite centers. We have grown in infrastructure, services, equipment, and people. In many ways, we have become one of the fastest-growing private hospitals in the country.

Q: What broader changes are you seeing in healthcare in Kenya?

Dr. Toseef Din: Like many countries, we face workforce challenges. Staff leave for opportunities in the UK, the United States, and other parts of the world. But when you are in a place like Kenya, you learn how to do more with less. You become more community-centered, adaptable, agile, and innovative. Africa remains volatile in many ways, but I also believe we are well placed to solve tomorrow’s problems today. If something works in a low-resource setting like ours, it may be relevant for other countries across the continent and beyond.

Healthcare is changing with AI, robotic surgery, governance, and ethics. But the real question is how we adapt these changes to the realities of our setting.

Q: On a personal level, what keeps you moving forward?

Dr. Toseef Din: Opportunities like this are humbling because they make you pause and remember what you have done. At the same time, you realize there is still so much more to do. For me, leadership is about responsibility. It is about asking what you are building, who you are supporting, and what will remain after you move on. I am grateful for the chance to share my story, but I also see it as only one part of a much larger journey.

Dr. Din’s story is a reminder that healthcare leadership does not always begin at the bedside. Sometimes it begins with numbers, trade-offs, and the discipline to make difficult decisions in resource-constrained environments. At MP Shah Hospital, that discipline is being combined with compassion, sustainability, workforce support, and a clear commitment to expanding opportunities for women in healthcare leadership.