•Medical board orders facility to immediately release the body for burial
•Top management directed to appear before KMDB for disciplinary action
Image: FILE
Doctors have summoned the management of PCEA Kikuyu Mission Hospital to explain the decision to detain a body over a Sh777,000 bill.
In a letter to the hospital, the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Board threatens to take action against medical director Patrick Kimpiatu for detaining the body of Moses Githinji Munene.
Githinji was admitted to the hospital on February 8, 2018 and died on January 2, 2019 while undergoing treatment.
The prolonged admission accumulated Sh1,513,781, which the family managed to settle partly leaving a balance of Sh777,781.
KMPDB says the hospital is in breach of code of professional conduct that bars doctors and health institutions from detaining patients for non-payment of bills.
The code instead advises that legal means should be used to recover medical fees in cases where a patient dies while undergoing treatment.
The courts have also issued several rulings against detention of bodies or patients by health facilities due to pending bills.
The medical board, in a letter dated March 15, orders the facility to immediately release the body for burial and top management to appear before it for disciplinary action today.
“You are required to appear before the Preliminary Inquiry Committee of the Board on Monday 18th March, 2019 to show cause why disciplinary action should not be taken against your institution for detaining the body of the late Moses Githinji Munene,” reads part of the letter.
The move comes at a time two legislators are pushing for a law change to completely outlaw any form of detention of patients)and bodies by any health facility.
Detention of patients and bodies is a common practice in both private and public health facilities in the country.
MPs Mohamed Ali (Nyali) and Jared Okelo (Nyando) are separately pushing to have the government compel public health facilities to forfeit all bills accrued during treatment when one dies.
While Ali has come up with a motion to have the hospital bills waived, his Nyando counterpart has proposed an amendment to the Health Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018, to not only have the bills forfeited but also outlaw detention of patients.
The lawmakers, citing Article 43 of the Constitution, say every Kenyan has a right to the highest attainable standard of health and any detention of patients or bodies is a breach of the law.
Okelo proposed a raft of amendments to the Health Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018, making it illegal to detain patients or bodies.
He seeks a relook at the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Act to compel a health facility or staff to pay up to Sh5 million fine or serve a jail term of up to five years for detaining bodies or patients.