Doctors want stiff penalties against quacks who prey on unsuspecting members of the public.
They have proposed the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board (Amendment) Bill to help fix the problem. It was passed by the National Assembly last week and is awaiting presidential assent.
A joint inspection will be carried out before the year ends to flush out quacks and close Illegal clinics. But the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board said on Tuesday that the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Act is weak and allows lenient sentences.
“We’re frustrated by the legal framework. The penalties are so lenient that quacks who have been arrested are released on bail of Sh10,000-20,000 and go back to operating illegally,” CEO David Yumbya told the Nairobi assembly Health committee.
The proposed law raises penalty charges to Sh5 million to make it difficult for suspects to be released.
“Once that is done, we’ll be able to bring to order the quacks. They would be given deterrent sentences,” Yumbya said.
The committee led by chairman Peter Warutere sought to know the measures the board has put in place to rid Nairobi of quacks and illegal clinics. Nominated MCA June Ndegwa proposed that the board adopts technology to curb these illegalities.
In response, the KMPDB said it has introduced a short code message, which will reveal details of a practitioner.
“When one sends the name of a doctor to the number 20547, they will get his or her details and qualifications,” Yumbya said.
Health CS Siucily Kariuki will launch the code before the year ends.
The board has also developed an application called iCare to record all health facilities in the country. It is currently being tested.
“Once a facility’s name is keyed in, it reveals its locality, doctor in charge and services offered. This will also help during accidents to identify hospitals to which victims are admitted,” Yumbya said.
The KMPDB is also developing a barcode that will instantly reveal details of a practitioner when scanned. It will be rolled out in January.
Minority chief whip Peter Imwatok cautioned the board against sleeping on the job. “The board has entirely failed Nairobians and Kenyans at large. How can we have around 800 illegal clinics operating right under their ‘watchful’ eyes? During inspection you’ll find some clinics are closed. At most four hours after that, they are back operating. We can’t operate on a reaction mode. The board must wake up and do its job,” Imwatok said.
He expressed concern over the increase of unlisensed pharmacies in estates.
The board said it is mandated to regulate only doctors, dentists and health clinics. “The Pharmacy and Poisons Board regulates pharmacies and chemists and the Kenya Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Board regulates laboratories,” Yumbya said.