Mr. John Mburu is responsible for aligning the human resource and administration strategies to the organization overall strategy. The Department is responsible for formulating and developing comprehensive human resources management and administration policies and ensuring implementation.

Dr. Margaret Mbugua is mandated to establish and maintain uniform norms and standards on the learning of medicine, dentistry; to prescribe the minimum educational entry requirements for persons wishing to be trained as medical, dental and community oral health practitioners, and to determine and set a framework for professional practice of medical, dental and community oral health practitioners in Kenya.

Philip Ole Kamwaro is responsible for formulating and coordinating the implementation of sound Financial, Human Resource and Administration, Information Communication and Technology, and Corporate Communication policies and strategies for effective management of the Council resources and enhancement of the Council Image.

The Council received 26 complaints of alleged professional medical malpractice in the third quarter of the year 2021-2022. Of these complaints, 20 have had case files opened and are awaiting submissions from the respective respondents. In hearings held in January and February 2022, which involved complaints which had been filled previously, the D&EC Sub-Committees determined nine 9 cases and one 1 case was adjourned.

KMPDC is mandated to regulate health training, practice of medicine and dentistry as well as regulate healthcare standards in hospitals, medical centers and clinics through the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee. The Disciplinary and Ethics Committee (D&EC) is established by the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Act, Chapter 253 of the Laws of Kenya, Section 4A (1) (b) which mandates the D&EC to conduct inquiries into complaints submitted to it.

In hearing and determining complaints of alleged medical negligence, the D & E Committee goes through several stages including receiving of a complaint, opening of a D&EC case file, expert review and committee stage all while allowing both the complainant and respondents have adequate time to file submissions to ensure an impartial process.

According to Ms. Eunice Muriithi Assistant Director, Discipline and Ethics, “the determination of cases involves intense investigation based on medicine and backed by a thorough analysis of the patient journey by critically evaluating the complainant and respondents’ statements, patient files and records to ensure a fair outcome for each complaint presented to the committee.”

Medical practitioners are encouraged to ensure that:

• They keep accurate documentation and patient notes

• Engage in continuous and honest communication with their patients and their families

• Take up indemnity covers as is mandated in the Health Laws Amendments Act of May 2019.

This safeguards the practitioners should there ever be any complaint lodged against them.

The Council commits itself to do everything within the law to ensure that every matter is determined in the shortest time possible. However, a number of factors such as inadequate documentation by complainants, lack of cooperation from defendants and need of review by multiple specialties can extended the duration before final determination of a cases.

Following KMPDC’s categorization as a regulator agency by the State Corporation Advisory Committee (SCAC) in 2020, the Council has embarked on revamping its human resource capacity to enable a more efficient delivery of its mandate. This comes after adoption of a revamped organizational structure aimed at enhancing coordination of all activities, building synergy between directorates/departments and divisions, eliminating duplication of work and rationalizing staff for optimal utilization.

The structure has also put in place standards for recruitment and career advancement on the basis of knowledge, competence, merit, experience and ability. In line with this, the Council advertised and filled three new positions of Director Standards, Deputy Director Strategy Research and Quality Assurance and Deputy Director Corporate Communication and Public Relations. The new employees Dr. Margaret Mbugua, Director Standards, Ms Jeanne Mathenge, Deputy Director Strategy Research and Quality Assurance and Simon Kiraithe, Deputy Director Corporate Communication and Public Relations were officially received by Daniel Yumbya KMPDC CEO on 15th March, 2022.

Thirteen College of Surgeons of East & Central Africa (COSECSA) and internship training institutions were inspected by the Council in the third quarter of the 2021-2022 financial year. Out of these, eleven were approved. The inspections that took place between 2nd and 5th March, 2022. This is in line with the Council’s mandate to regulate training of all medical and dental practitioners and community oral health officers.

Some of the institutions approved as training sites for COSECSA orthopaedic and trauma surgery included the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital, Tenwek Mission Hospital, Kisii County Referral Hospital, AIC Kijabe Mission Hospital, PCEA Kikuyu Hospital, Defence Forces Memorial Hospital and Kenyatta National Hospital among others. Lodwar County Referral Hospital was also evaluated for readiness for accreditation as an Internship Training Centre.

Postgraduate training by COSECSA is offered under a collegiate system which involves a training programme with a common examination offered through a number of accredited constituent training sites. The collegiate system of training under COSECSA is aimed at increasing the number of surgeons in the country and consequently enhancing Universal Healthcare Coverage by having the residents distributed across the country during their training. This improves the human resource capacities of the counties as the specialists are trained on site and not in centralized stations as is the case with university training.

An added advantage of the collegiate training arrangement is that it provides flexible training program in terms of location and continued employment for the residents providing even more incentive for practitioners to seek specialty training.

With the rapidly evolving technological space, KMPDC has kept pace in implementing digital solutions to both internal and external processes. A key milestone is that of the Online Service Portal (https://osp.kmpdc.go.ke) which allows medical and dental practitioners, community oral health officers and health facilities to renew their licenses remotely. The portal is fast and easy to use.

In addition, the Council has adopted the Electronic Board (E-Board) in conducting its meetings. The solution which was recently used during the 132nd Full Council Meeting is cost effective as it eliminates the use of paper. The E-Board also ensures security of documents by restricting access to unauthorized users. Management of internship has been revolutionized, thanks to the introduction of the internship management system which integrates all the internship related aspects such as balloting, application of internship licenses and internship centers transfers into one.

According to Duncan Mwai, Assistant Director ICT, already four (4) Cohorts have successfully balloted through the Internship Management System since its inauguration in November 2021. Further, the written part (Multiple Choice Questions-MCQ’s) of the pre-registration and internship qualifying Examinations for foreign doctors is conducted online.

To consolidate all internal operations, the Council has invested in an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System, which seeks to provide essential office solutions such as Financial Management, Supply Chain Management, Human Resource Management, Customer Relationship Management just to mention a few. This is expected to streamline processes, save on costs, increase productivity and achieve efficiency.

Names of all registered practitioners and facilities will have their licensure statuses published by 31^st March of every year. This is in line with Section 9 and 10 of CAP 253 Laws of Kenya which mandates the Council to register and maintain a record of all practitioners in the country. This is inclusive of the records of retired and deceased practitioners.

The number of registered practitioners has been rising over the years due to the increase in the local universities offering Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) and Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS). There are 15,485 registered local doctors out of which 9,665 are licensed as at 11th April 2022. Further, out of the 1,259 registered foreign doctors, 327 are licensed.

Currently, the country has 11 medical and 2 dental approved schools offering undergraduate medical and dental training respectively. Students on internship are normally issued with internship licenses before acquiring a practicing license, which comes after successful registration with the Council. It is a contravention of the law for a practitioner to fail to renew their license as required.

All licenses including those of facilities expire on the 31st of December every year and one is required to initiate renewal before this date. Failure to adhere to this licensure rule attracts a fifty per cent (50%) penalty imposed on the license fees. The license renewal process has been simplified as it is done online. A doctor only needs to have attained a minimum of fifty (50) CPD Points, have secured an indemnity cover and be in good standing to be eligible for a practicing license.t