By The Weekly Vision
A report by the Auditor General, Nancy Gathungu, has blamed the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists’ Council (KMPDC) for failing to ensure that all the hospitals operating in the country are doing so legally. The report shows that out of the 16,527 registered health facilities in the year 2023 as provided for on their website, only 7,518, or 46 per cent, complied with the licensing rules, resulting in 9009 unlicensed, or 56 per cent, of the facilities.
Read the report: “In the circumstances, management was in breach of the law.” The report shows that the majority of the unlicensed facilities are national and county government dispensaries and hospitals whose annual licenses are free of charge but have not undertaken the process of being licensed, contrary to Section 15(2) of the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Act, 2012, which states that where the applicant satisfies the Council that the institution meets the requirements for registration, the Council shall register the facility as an approved health institution.
It says, “In addition, there was no evidence to show efforts being made to ensure that the government facilities comply with the licensing rules for registration.” The report has also blamed KMPDC for having outstanding payments of Sh5,471,937 in respect of Pay as You Earn (PAYE) and a balance of Sh53,175,567 outstanding in respect of goods and services supplied. “Failure to settle bills during the year to which they relate distorts the financial statements and adversely affects the budgetary provisions for the subsequent year as they form a first charge.”
Budget guidelines
The report also accuses the management of being in breach of the law for having a budget surplus of Sh139.4 million, contrary to Regulation 33(c) of the Public Finance Management (National Government) Regulations, 2015 on budget guidelines, which provides that at all times during budget formulation and approval the budget shall be balanced.
The report came hardly a year after KMPDC wrote to the police demanding action against 3,851 health facilities and 3,050 medical and dental practitioners who were yet to renew their licenses. The health facilities that were by November last year operating without renewing their licenses in Nairobi included; 3RD Park Hospital Limited, A.B. Centre Dental Clinic, A.I.C. Zion Medical Clinic, and Dispensary, A.I.P.C.A. Mahinga Dispensary, and Accra Medical Centre.
Others were Adopt a Life Foundation (Ruai Medical Centre), Africare Limited Krishna Park, Africare Limited NGONG 5TH Avenue, Africare Limited SOUTH C Clinic, Africare Limited TRM, Africare LTD Karen Clinic, Africare LTD Mayfair Centre Upperhill, and Afya Royal Clinics Nairobi.
KMPDC is mandated to regulate, train, practice, and license medicine, dentistry, and healthcare institutions.
