The Health Ministry has since August 7 shut down 800 health facilities for non-compliance with safety standards, Health CS Sicily Kariuki said on Tuesday.
Kariuki, who spoke at the Kenyatta National Hospital as Kenya marked the Global Patient Safety Day, said one in 10 patients develops a healthcare-acquired infection in the course of care.
She said patient safety was a global health issue. She disclosed that 2.6 million people die annually due to unsafe care.
The CS said the ministry had inspected and categorised 4,417 health care facilities out of 11,599 in the country.
“It is important that we reflect on the stark statistics relating to patient safety as a global health issue,” Kariuki said.
She said it is the right of every Kenyan to get the highest standard of health as enshrined in the Constitution.
She said the ministry has a regulatory mechanism – Kenya Quality Model for Health – to assess and improve the quality of health services.
“This collaborative effort will ensure minimum safety standards are upheld across all health care facilities to support best practice for enhancing patient safety.”
The standards will ensure that healthcare associated infections are controlled.
She told health workers, including clinicians, managers, and support staff, to always prioritise patient safety.
“Services need to be designed and delivered in such a way as to minimise the risk of patient safety."
WHO says that four out of every 10 patients are harmed during primary and ambulatory (outpatient) health care.
Outpatient care includes diagnosis, observation, consultation, treatment, intervention, and rehabilitation.
According to WHO, the most detrimental errors are related to diagnosis, prescription and the use of medicines.
Medication errors alone cost an estimated US $42 billion annually.
