The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) has told health facilities operating in petrol stations and residential buildings to move. The council posted a statement on its official X account on March 12 stating that these locations are not suitable for healthcare.
KMPDC said the facilities have six months to relocate to a safe and comfortable place for patients and the community. If they do not move, they will be closed. The council wants to stop infections from spreading and keep patients safe.
The council also mentioned that these places have safety risks like flammable materials, not enough space, and disturbances that make it hard to care for patients well. KMPDC is in charge of making rules for training, practicing, and licensing medicine, dentistry, and healthcare institutions.
These include private and mission hospitals, medical and dental centres and clinics, nursing and maternity homes, and standalone funeral homes. KMPDC has closed many facilities before for not following the rules. In March 2024, they shut down 80 facilities in Kajiado County because they were not licensed properly.
David Kariuki, the Chief Executive Officer of KMPDC, said some of the closed facilities were not good enough, some were not registered or licensed, and others had hired people who were not registered or licensed. In July 2024, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu reported that KMPDC did not license more than 9,000 health facilities.
Her report said that out of the 16,527 registered health facilities in 2023, only 7,518, or 46 percent, followed the licensing rules. That means 9,009, or 56 percent, of all the health facilities, were not licensed, which caused people to worry about the quality of services they provided.
A fully licensed facility should have all the required equipment and medical staff to make sure they give good medical services. The audit report for KMPDU for the period ended June 30, 2023, contained these findings.
KMPDC said the facilities have six months to relocate to a safe and comfortable place for patients and the community. If they do not move, they will be closed. The council wants to stop infections from spreading and keep patients safe.
The council also mentioned that these places have safety risks like flammable materials, not enough space, and disturbances that make it hard to care for patients well. KMPDC is in charge of making rules for training, practicing, and licensing medicine, dentistry, and healthcare institutions.
These include private and mission hospitals, medical and dental centres and clinics, nursing and maternity homes, and standalone funeral homes. KMPDC has closed many facilities before for not following the rules. In March 2024, they shut down 80 facilities in Kajiado County because they were not licensed properly.
David Kariuki, the Chief Executive Officer of KMPDC, said some of the closed facilities were not good enough, some were not registered or licensed, and others had hired people who were not registered or licensed. In July 2024, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu reported that KMPDC did not license more than 9,000 health facilities.
Her report said that out of the 16,527 registered health facilities in 2023, only 7,518, or 46 percent, followed the licensing rules. That means 9,009, or 56 percent, of all the health facilities, were not licensed, which caused people to worry about the quality of services they provided.
A fully licensed facility should have all the required equipment and medical staff to make sure they give good medical services. The audit report for KMPDU for the period ended June 30, 2023, contained these findings.
