The Director of Medical Services in the colonial government, Dr Albert Rutherford Paterson, lived in a six-bedroom house in the heart of Karen, nestled on 20 acres of idyllic farmland with an unobstructed view of the rolling Ngong Hills.

The man who build King George Hospital, later renamed Kenyatta National Hospital, raised his four children in the house in Karen.

The property is now owned by Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju who has turned it into a hotel, the Entim Sidai Wellness Centre and Spa, an exclusive facility with six executive rooms each going for between Sh19,000 and Sh30,000 per night.

The 90-year-old house has not been altered in any way, apart from a coat of paint and basic plumbing. Next to the house stands a 76-year-old tree that Patterson and his German wife planted to commemorate the end of the Second World War.

Paterson served as Director of Medical Services until he retired in 1941. During the 1938 New Year Honours where British monarch King George VI gave orders and honours to reward good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire, Dr Paterson was given Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) by the King.

But Paterson’s greatest pride and joy was King James Hospital, the oldest in the country, which was founded in 1901 with a bed capacity of 40 as the Native Civil Hospital.

It was renamed the King George VI in 1952 in memory of the king after the monarch died on February 6, 1952. At that time, the settler community was served by the nearby European Hospital (now Nairobi Hospital).

King George Hospital was renamed Kenyatta National Hospital after Kenya’s first president, Jomo Kenyatta following independence from the British.

Born on July 13, 1885 in Glasgow, Patterson studied medicine at the University of Glasgow. According to the University of Glasgow alumni website, He graduated in 1908 after passing exams in surgery, midwifery and clinical medicine amongst others, before enrolling at Cambridge for further studies.

After graduating, he worked as a house-surgeon and house-physician at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary and the City of Glasgow Fever Hospital as a resident doctor before taking up an appointment as the in house-physician at the Glasgow Royal Maternity and Women’s Hospital.

A few months before the First World War in 1914, Paterson was bitten by the African bug and he signed up successfully for West African Medical Service.

He was sent to Nigeria where he practised as a medical officer and then he applied for and was accepted by the military. Paterson joined the Royal Army Medical Corps when the First World War began, treating injured soldiers in Cameroon. After the war, he travelled to East Africa where he got a job with the colonial government as a medical officer.

Paterson was promoted by the British government to deputy director of sanitary services in Kenya, a position he held for 13 years until his boss, J.L Gilks retired upon which he took over as Director of Medical Services. Paterson was married to a German, Madeline Ruth Alice in 1931, a fact that didn’t augur well with his British neighbours in Karen since Germany was considered an enemy state during the two world wars.

Paterson and his wife were some of the original members of Karen Club in 1937 and they had four children; three sons and one daughter. 

He retired in 1941 and went on to serve as president of the Kenya Branch of the British Medical Association from 1946 to 1948. A prolific author, Dr Paterson wrote for medical journals and magazines. He also published two medical books, The Book of Civilization (1935), The Human Situation in East Africa and The Case for the Appointment of a Royal Commission on Health and Population in His Majesty’s Dependencies in Africa. He died in Nairobi on August 26, 1959, aged 74.

Dr Paterson’s Karen home, now turned into a spa hotel, features souvenir Victorian furniture, unspoiled landscape, fresh air and lush forests from indigenous trees. The sanctuary also features a herb garden and outdoor massage rooms.