NAIROBI: Last week’s arrest of a quack doctor who has defied all the rules of the medical profession and operated illegal clinics in Nairobi is an indictment on the Government and the institutions set up to protect citizens against malpractices and abuses. It has become the norm rather than the exception for Government agencies to disown such individuals only after something untoward has happened.
It is disturbing and unacceptable that a clinic where women have been seeking medical attention turns out to be an unlicensed facility where they are allegedly drugged and violated without authorities getting wind of it.
After the expose on the bogus doctor by a local media station, authorities were quick to disown him, going as far as saying he was a wanted man over the same mistake a few years back. With such a record, how was he able to continue operating several clinics without detection? What does this say of the warnings by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board (KMPDB) to citizens to avoid quack doctors?
Warnings given to citizens by the KMPDB to avoid unlicensed clinics are an admission of negligence on its part. Perfunctory arrests of quack doctors in swoops in various towns across the country normally come only after such incidents have been reported by the public and what this amounts to be a public relations gimmick whose aim is to assuage a restive public. Citizens, especially those from poor backgrounds have unquestioning faith in buildings or premises with the signs ‘hospital’, dispensary or ‘clinic’ prominently displayed above their doorways and entrances. It is unimaginable that would-be patients would pause to ask to look at registration certificates of quacks masquerading as doctors just to determine their authenticity.
Ordinary citizens don’t have the wherewithal to determine who is bona fide and who is fake and that is the reason bodies like KMPDB, the Nursing council and Clinical Officers Council were constituted. It is within their mandates to protect citizens from harm by carrying out regular checks and inspection on medical facilities to weed out imposters endangering lives.
The fact that unscrupulous individuals can set up illegal clinics and operate long enough to get a loyal clientele is proof that the KMPDB is either sleeping on the job or some of its workers are compromised.
Because of these malpractices, and despite great advances made in medicine, most Kenyans still succumb to death from treatable diseases. Some unlicensed pharmacies are also known to sell expired or fake drugs.
Medical services are in jeopardy today over misunderstandings between the national and county governments. In Marakwet recently, it was reported that a cleaner at a Government health facility administered a measles vaccine that caused the deaths of two minors almost immediately.
How did he get access to the vaccines, which are supposed to be under lock and key and in the care of a qualified doctor or nurse?
A report last year indicated 37 per cent of health workers in Marakwet did not report for work as in many other counties. Thus, the Marakwet incident might not be an isolated case. It is a pointer to the magnitude of negligence in Government hospitals where cases of doctor absenteeism are common.
We have reached a point where Kenyans demand more dedication from the Government, KMPDB and the drug inspectors. Endangering the lives of citizens through negligence, greed and corruption is unacceptable; we must build a healthy nation for a prosperous future.
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