Ruai Family Hospital survives

A police report on missing Covid-19 doses on August 29 may have saved Ruai Family Hospital (RFH) from losing its licence.

In a day-long meeting with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council’s (KMPDC) disciplinary and ethics committee, RFH management together with the nurse in question presented their case on the claims that had led to the revocation of the hospital’s licence.

The hospital had been accused of administering vaccines in Murang’a, an outreach that the Health Ministry on Tuesday cited as having a political inclination.

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe asked the KMPDC to investigate the matter and by Tuesday evening, the council had given a 24-hour notice to the hospital to close by 6pm on Wednesday.

A spot-check by the Nation at the hospital yesterday revealed that there was a decline in patients’ admission in two of the six RFH branches located in Ruai.

When the Nation visited, only three patients were in the waiting bay.

At the time, none of the patients had been discharged but the corridors were empty. Had it not been for the reinstatement, about 318 hospital staff risked losing their jobs.

While giving the orders from their findings, KMPDC delisted the hospital as a vaccination centre but said it will continue offering other services.

The council also asked the management to give an audit of all Covid-19 vaccines received doses administered and issue a report within two weeks.

The hospital management has also been asked to prove the existence of the Standard Operating Procedures on accountability and documentation of the Covid-19 vaccines.

In a statement, KMPDC chief executive Daniel Yumbya also asked the management to get details of their vaccine batches from the Dandora Sub-County depot for ease of auditing.

The nurse, identified by KMPDC as Ruth Muthoni, allegedly gave 144 doses of vaccines to a business developer, Carolyne Kinyanjui, outside the hospital to be used in the Muranga vaccination drive on Friday 27, 2021.

It is then that the hospital reported the missing doses to police before the matter blew up, inviting disciplinary action against the hospital.

Dr Yumbya told the Nation that the committee has now let the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to investigate the conduct of Ms Muthoni and Ms Kinyanjui.

Speaking to the hospital chief executive Dr Maxwell Odongo shortly after the decision was made, he told the Nation that the hospital has respected the decision made and will continue to provide quality care to patients.