Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha has refuted claims that Kenyatta University medical students were deliberately denied access to KU hospital for their training and research activities.
Nakhumicha who was appearing before the National Assembly’s public investment committee on governance and education instead laid blame on the management of the varsity.
She said the management defied calls to comply with the guidelines in place of having the hospital accredited by regulatory agencies for the students to be allowed to access the facility.
“Chairman, due to the ego and administrative issues that have been highlighted that letter has not been written by the university and therefore the students have not been able to access the facility,” she said.
According to the CS, a training institution is required to make an application to either the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) or the Nurses Council of Kenya (NCK) seeking authorisation to use the hospital as a training site.
The agencies, she explained, will then conduct an inspection of the particular hospital before accrediting.
“Kenyatta University, despite the many reminders as captured in the chronology of events, has failed to follow the procedure,” she said.
She, however, stated that due to the challenge, which had continued to disadvantage the students, she was forced to intervene.
“It has taken the intervention of my ministry to have KUTRRH accredited as a training site for undergraduate students of medicine. I directed the two bodies to inspect the hospital for its suitability,” she submitted.
Nakhumicha said the hospital was accredited in July this year by the regulators after an inspection, which was conducted the same month.
“The hospital and university have been issued with accreditation certificates,” she noted.
The CS had appeared alongside her counterparts Ezekiel Machogu (Education) and Njuguna Ndung’u (Treasury) before the Committee chaired by Bumula MP Jack Wamboka.
Nakhumicha stated that the hospital has always been open to receiving students for medicine training after the signing of a MoU between the two institutions in 2020.
She at the same clarified that there are various students approved by the Commission for University Education (CUE) and Technical and Vocational Education Training Authority (TVETA) do not require approval a health regulator.
On the plan to revert the hospital to the varsity, the CS strongly objected the move saying the hospital currently plays a critical role in the provision of specialised health services which has been made possible by further government investment of over Sh5 billion to date.
“In addition, there are existing contracts with different stakeholders whose termination would have far-reaching legal implications. As a key player in the provision of health services, the hospital has served over 330,000 patients,” she said.
She noted that the hospital has already gained both national and international recognition through the services it provides.
