Health CS orders fresh hospitals inspection, some to be deregistered

Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki (pictured) has ordered the medical board to re-inspect all health facilities in the country to weed out facilities giving sub-standard services.

The decision follows the death of a seven-month-old baby at Shalom Hospital in Machakos County due to medical negligence. The hospital has since been closed.

Ms Kariuki said the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board (MPDB) has three months to carry out the re-inspection across the country and table a report with recommendations.

“The re-inspection is meant to de-register facilities with substandard services or maintain the good ones in their currents status,” said Kariuki.

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Universal health

The CS said such cases cannot be tolerated when the country is working towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

“We will deny those who cannot afford to run the medical facilities permits. We cannot afford to be careless and end up causing deaths of patients,” she said.

Shalom Hospital was shut on Monday after the baby died moments after being given a morphine injection. This was the second case at the hospital barely a month after a pregnant woman allegedly was denied entry and later delivered at the reception.

The injection is said to have been given to the baby by a pharmaceutical technologist not fully qualified to give such considering also that morphine is a controlled drug.

Initially, the baby had been prescribed oral medication which was not available and was instead injected with the drug.

The medical board said the baby was injected with an overdose of morphine, 20 times more than the required amount.

Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya has already denounced the technologist and further accused Shalom of not doing due diligence before employing the individual.

“Shalom Hospital has not employed a pharmacist, but rather a pharmaceutical technologist,” said PSK President Louis Machogu.

Machogu said what is more disturbing is that the technologist was employed on basis of being licensed by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB).

A pharmaceutical technologist, usually a diploma holder, is supposed to work under a pharmacist.