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Medical board shuts 260 hospitals in war against quacks, negligence
Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council CEO David Kariuki during a function at the Radisson Blu Hotel on February 23.
What you need to know:
- Out of the 466 health facilities inspected in December 2022, the council closed 117.
- So far, 60 people across the country have been arrested for practicing without proper registration.
Following numerous complaints of misdiagnosis of diseases and cases of negligence by medical practitioners, the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Council, (KMPDC) has finally cracked down on unregistered and unlicensed health facilities across the country to weed out quacks.
In a major crackdown, KMPDC has shut down 260 health facilities and arrested 60 people across the country in the past eight months for practicing without proper registration.
According to Dr David Kariuki, the council's chief executive officer, KMPDC, in collaboration with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and respective county governments, has inspected over 1300 health facilities in various counties including Nakuru, Nairobi, Mombasa, Meru and Embu.
"In December 2022, the Council inspected 466 facilities, closed 117 and arrested 15 people in Nairobi County alone. We have been conducting raids to tame unregistered health facilities and the increasing number of quacks operating health facilities across the country because every Kenyan within our borders has the right to access quality health care. We want to ensure that medical practitioners across the country are well trained and licensed," Dr Kariuki told the Nation in Nakuru City.
According to the KMPDC, in Embu, they conducted the crackdown in February 2023, targeting 231 establishments, closing 31 and arresting eight people.
In Mombasa, Dr Kariuki revealed that they conducted the crackdown in April 2023, on 345 premises, closed 66 and arrested three people, while in Mombasa they conducted the crackdown in June on 263 premises, closed 46 and arrested 30 people.
According to the KMPDC, in most of the counties where the raids took place, the hospitals were closed for failing to comply with the required regulations, putting the lives of Kenyans at risk.
In Nakuru County, the council has so far inspected 260 facilities of various levels out of the 700 registered health facilities in the region.
In Nakuru, the council has managed to close down 44 non-compliant facilities and arrested six people for practising without a licence.
Sixteen other hospitals were also partially closed in Nakuru for failing to meet the required standards - most of the facilities were either unregistered or unlicensed, employed unregistered or unlicensed practitioners or operated below the required standards.
"The inspection is aimed at ensuring that all facilities operating in Nakuru County are compliant for the purposes for which they are licensed. There is a risk that Kenyans attending such facilities may be receiving substandard care," he said, adding that most of the closed health facilities were private.
The Council's inspection included an assessment of physical infrastructure, human resource capacity and licensing of all relevant medical cadres as well as observation of the facility's operations.
