Denying doctors’ private licence will hike medical costs

The move by the medics’ council to abolish part-time private practice for public hospital doctors may leave many Kenyans in more suffering due to lack of specialists to attend to them.

Many hospitals in the country experience a shortage of doctors against a huge number of patients. In many instances, hospitals are forced to set aside specific days of the week when a patient can see a doctor who deals with a particular health problem as the specialist is not available full-time probably due to being tied at another facility.

Banning these licences could, therefore, mean that some hospitals and more so private ones will be left with the option of abolishing some services to patients or else increase the cost of seeking medical services in their premises.

Nairobi