The Kenyatta National Hospital. Fines for breaching patient safety could reach Sh50 million and offenders may be jailed for up to ten years.But some health workers lobbies are already opposed to it saying it duplicates existing laws and would create loopholes for corruption.
We look at what to expect should the new Quality Healthcare and Patient Safety Bill become law.
The Ministry of Health mooted the law mid last year and unveiled the draft last week.
The bill is currently undergoing public participation across
the 47 counties.
If it becomes law, Kenyans will see the rise of a powerful new body, the Quality Healthcare and Patient Safety Authority.
According to the draft, the Authority would wield vast powers. It would not only register and license all health facilities across the country, but also accredit them, set and monitor quality benchmarks, and even suspend or revoke licenses.
These functions currently fall under multiple bodies such as
the Kenya Health
Professions Oversight Authority (KHPOA) and the professional councils it was
expected to coordinate, such as the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists
Council (KMPDC),
the Clinical Officers Council, and the Nursing Council among others.
The proposed law sets broad standards for public and private health facilities for the safety of patients and workers.
It empowers the authority’s officers to penalise offending facilities with “a fine not exceeding fifty million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, or both.”
The Bill also proposes the creation of a Healthcare Tribunal to resolve disagreements involving patients, workers, or facilities.
“A patient is entitled to respectful, person-centered care,
including quality palliative and end-of-life care; non-discriminatory treatment
regardless of age, sex, disability, ethnicity, health status or socioeconomic
status; and tailored services for vulnerable or marginalized groups, including
women, youth, persons with disabilities and minority groups,” the Bill says.
But most of these provisions are already stipulated, though rarely enforced, by the Health Act, 2017. For example, Section 5 of the Health Act declares that “Every person has the right to the highest attainable standard of health” and “Every person shall have the right to be treated with dignity, respect and have their privacy respected.”
Section 7 specifies that “Every person has the right to emergency medical treatment,” including pre-hospital care and stabilising treatment. Any facility that fails to provide this, while able, commits an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding Sh3 million.
The new Bill repeatedly restates these same rights, word for word, despite being intended as a step forward.
According to Peterson Wachira, chairman of the Health Sector Caucus Kenya, that raises a question: if the Health Act already secures these protections, why build a new tower instead of reinforcing the one standing?
“We observe that more than 80 per cent of contents in Quality of Healthcare and Patient Safety Bill 2025 are already provided for in other legislations and policies within the ministry including; Health Act 2017, National Policy on Patient Safety, Health Worker Safety and Quality of Care, Public Health Act, Clinical Officers Act, Medical Practitioners and Dentists Act, Nurses Act, Kenya Quality Model of Health (KQMH) policy, Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Act, Nutrition and Dieticians Act, PHOTC Act, Pharmacy and Poisons Act, among others,” he said.
Another critical function under the Health Act 2017 law appears to be
duplicated. Sections 45 and 48 establish the Kenya Health Professions Oversight
Authority (KHPOA) as the body responsible for regulating health professions.
“The functions of the Authority (KHPOA) shall be to monitor the performance by health regulatory bodies; ensure the maintenance of professional standards; ensure the development and compliance with policies, guidelines and standards related to health professionals; facilitate resolution of disputes among regulatory bodies; coordinate joint inspections; and promote and ensure continuous professional development in collaboration with relevant regulatory bodies,” Section 48 of the Health Act says.
Wachira says Justice Wesley Korir in September 2022 directed for amendment of Health Act 2017. He says this provides a shorter and cost-effective route for its improvement, if need be, without reproducing and duplicating laws that provide for health.
The new Bill even goes further: it would strip regulatory
authorities of their power to set scopes of practice – defining what doctors,
nurses, clinical officers and other professionals may do – and transfer that
authority to the Director General of Health.
Section 19(1) of the Bill suggests: “A health facility shall adhere to the scope of practice for the healthcare providers employed or contracted in health facilities as prescribed by the Cabinet Secretary on the recommendation of the Director-General.”
Professional bodies in their memorandum protest saying this
is taking control away from specialists and placing it in the hands of
political appointees.
“Transfer of mandate on development of scopes of practice from regulatory bodies to Director General is retrogressive and will negatively affect quality of health,” Wachira said.
“Councils and boards are better placed to continue with this function since they have a diversity of members representing various fields including trainers, regulators, legal practitioners and practitioners in the relevant field, which provides a better and informed forum for development of progressive Scopes of Practice.”
At issue is also timing and cost. The Bill comes as Kenya struggles to pay health staff, maintain facilities, and invest in digital systems.
The Cabinet recently resolved to merge or dissolve
unnecessary agencies to ease budget pressures. “Yet here we are, preparing to
launch another national health agency with fresh staff, offices, and
administration, all while the roles it would fill are already guaranteed under
existing law,” health workers
said in a statement.
Rather than creating a new body, union leaders and lawyers argue that the government should amend the 2017 Act to make KHPOA fully operational, inclusive, and powerful enough to protect patients and oversee standards.
The task then would be to fill in the missing pieces (hire staff, deepen inspections, improve infrastructure) not compete with another agency.
However, some observers see merit in the bill’s attention to
telemedicine, data privacy, digital platforms, and even medical
aesthetics—areas previously neglected in law. Joash N.R., a clinical officer
and health tech strategist,
said:
“If you work in healthcare (especially in sales, tech, or innovation), you know telehealth has been growing but it’s also been vibing in the grey area. No clear rules. No accountability. No structure for how we handle virtual consultations, data privacy, or even digital prescriptions. This Bill changes that.”
He added: “It recognizes telemedicine as part of Kenya’s formal healthcare structure.”
Public Health PS Mary Muthoni defends the Bill and the new authority it creates, saying the country needs a strong regulatory body to oversee health service providers and protect patients from unsafe practices.
“Patients are too often exposed to substandard conditions, with services offered in poorly built facilities and by unqualified staff,” she said.
“The Quality of Health and Patient Safety Bill will be a game changer. It aims to restore dignity and safety within Kenya’s healthcare system.”
The ministry said it will give Kenyans across all 47 counties an opportunity to review, adopt, or recommend changes during a series of public forums, ensuring it reflects the needs and priorities of both patients and providers.
The PS also called on the public and healthcare stakeholders to actively contribute during the ongoing public participation process.
“We want Kenyans to understand what this bill means and to help shape it. Quality healthcare is a right, not a privilege, and this legislation is one way of making that right a reality,” Muthoni added.
