Kenya: A medical board has warned that action will be taken against doctors found violating the Patients Rights Charter.
Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board chairman George Magoha noted that there was need for health regulatory boards and councils to ensure balance with the patient’s interest being supreme.
Magoha made the remarks over the weekend, during the launch of the Patient's Rights Charter at Green Hill Hotel in Nyeri.
“The right to emergency treatment as contained in Article 43, Sec 2 of the Constitution and must be adhered to by all,” Magoha said.
He said due to increasing need for doctors, there was need for them to uphold human rights and avoid conflict of interest in order to serve the public better.
“Already, the board has developed the professional code of conduct for doctors, while the clinical officer’s council and nursing council has reviewed their code in line with the constitution,” he said.
Magoha noted that the Kenya National Patient Rights Charter has borrowed heavily from the three codes and discipline, saying practitioners will be required to adhere to them.
“Failure to observe the code of conduct will automatically attract penalties and sanctions,” he added.
He said that with the launching of the charter, all the unprofessional and unethical malpractices will came to an end.
“The survival and well-being of the patient is not only important in their own, but central to solving much broader economic, social and development challenges,” he noted.
Magoha further said the right and safety of patients in seeking health care is a serious global issue, and that was why the World Health Assembly passed a resolution in 2012 on patient’s safety.
“The charter is a road map through which health care providers will conduct business, with the ultimate goal being provision of efficiency in areas of operation and fair services to patients.
Chief Executive Officer of the Board Daniel Yumbya said the county government must build good working atmosphere for doctors in the county in order to be able to discharge their duties effectively.
“The declaration to protect the rights of patients requires more than just educating policy makers, but requires interrogation and spelling of what citizens expect from the Government and kind of respect accorded to them,” Yumbya said.
