A scandal has erupted at the Kericho County Referral Hospital after three unauthorised nurses were found attending to patients, raising serious health and safety concerns for the region's top health facility.
The hospital which is classified as a level five facility was rocked by revelations that the nurses were neither employees of the county government nor officially engaged under contractual or casual terms (locum).
Preliminary investigations suggest that some hospital staff privately arranged for the unauthorised nurses to stand in for them while they were away.
The three nurses though trained and qualified, lacked the required authorisation from the hospital administration or the county's health services department.
Two regular nurses allegedly facilitated the deployment under a locum program without the consent of the Medical Superintendent, Chief Officer or Director of Health Services.
Governor Erick Mutai confirmed the incident on Thursday which occurred over the weekend and announced an overhaul of hospital administration policies.
The county plans to introduce modern staff management technologies, including biometric check-ins and name-badge requirements for all medical personnel
Kericho Deputy County Police Commander Robert Odongo said investigators are examining whether recent deaths at the hospital could be linked to medical negligence involving the unauthorised medics.
“I can confirm that following the report made by Dr Samwel Langat, the Medical Superintendent that one of the three unauthorised medics were at the hospital theatre awaiting to take part in a surgical procedure, the police made arrests of the three nurses involved,” Mr Odongo said.
One suspect is registered with the Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK), the second is a graduate of the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) Sigowet campus and the third is a continuing student at Nazarene University.
The discovery has alarmed residents prompting calls for administrative and legal action against those involved.
“This is a matter of life and death,” said Ms Beatrice Bett, a local resident.
"The hospital administration owes the people of Kericho an explanation. The county assembly health committee should investigate further to see if other health facilities in the county are affected.
Kericho Referral Hospital has a 12-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a 64-slice radiology unit, a state-of-the-art laboratory, an 8-bed dialysis unit and a modern oxygen plant, among other facilities.
Governor Mutai also announced the immediate suspension of the nurses in charge of the duty roster and all those who hired the unauthorised staff.
In addition, the extension of internships for medical students will be strictly regulated to prevent similar incidents.
