The number of cases of alleged medical malpractice lodged at the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council in 2020 dropped to 79, the frst decrease in fve years.
In 2019, the Council registered 110 cases, the highest number of complaints ever received since the establishment of KMPDC in 1978.
The mandate of the Council is to regulate health training, practice of medicine and dentistry as well as regulate healthcare standards in hospitals, medical centers and clinics.
One has the right to lodge a complaint with the Council if they feel that they did not receive quality healthcare. The Council, through the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee (DEC) then conducts inquiries on professional misconduct, medical/dental malpractice, overcharging, patient mismanagement, patient abandonment among others.
Dr. Mohamed Abdi who chairs the committee says that so far, the Council has cumulatively received a total of 1,239 complaints, since the first case was reported to the Council in 1997. About 1,060 cases have been concluded while only a paltry 147 cases are under investigation.
“Once the Council’s Legal Department receives a complaint from a patient, a patient’s relative or caregiver, the Office of the Ombudsman or even the media, the complaint is shared with the practitioner or health institution being accused, to give them a chance to respond to the allegations. The complaint and the response are then tabled before the DEC for discussion in their next scheduled meeting,” said Dr. Abdi.
Except for 2020, there has been a rise in the number of medical malpractice cases lodged at the Council for the past five years. The KMPDC Legal Services Manager Eunice Muriithi however says the rise in cases may not be an indicator of increased medical malpractices.
“Today, more than ever before, there is increased public awareness on patient rights. Furthermore, patients know that they can always report to the Council should they feel that their rights have been violated while receiving treatment,” said Ms. Muriithi.
KMPDC has also installed an open system where aggrieved patients or family members can lodge complaints.
Furthermore, to make it easier for a complainant, one can easily download the complaint form from the Council’s website www.kmpdc.go.ke on the “PUBLIC” tab, which also explains the procedure of lodging such complaints.
Once the form is filled, the same can be sent to the Council together with documents indicated in the complaint form to the email, legal@kmpdc.go.ke.
Cases of professional practice in medicine can usually come from; mis-diagnosis, wrong treatment, errors in emergency care, failure to diagnose and even lack of informed consent from patients among others.
Professional negligence is defined as “an act or omission of a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standards of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient”.
The rise in litigation for medical malpractice cases has seen the government step up measures to cushion health workers and institutions.
The Health Laws Amendments Act of May 2019 makes it mandatory for medical and dental practitioners in Kenya to take an annual professional indemnity cover. A professional indemnity insurance covers the costs of a lawsuit and compensation claims associated with a legal matter.
While KMPDC encourages members of the public to lodge cases for resolution, it urges medical and dental practitioners and health facilities to initiate dialogue with the patients and their relatives for speedy resolutions.
