511 private hospitals closed, 31 people arrested as KMPDC launches countrywide inspection

This as KMPDC teams already assessed 1,525 health facilities across Mandera, Nairobi, and Wajir counties. The inspections, conducted under the directive of Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, exposed alarming deficiencies in Kenya's private healthcare sector.

“Most of the closed facilities lacked sufficient infrastructure, such as space for essential departments like pharmacy, maternity, and laboratory,” said KMPDC CEO Dr. David Kariuki said in a press release.

Besides the facilities that were completely shut down, another 267 health centers have been downgraded due to their inability to provide the full range of services they were registered for. In connection with these violations, authorities have arrested 31 individuals.

Nairobi County bore the brunt of the closures, with 376 facilities shut down out of 1,017 inspected. In Wajir County, 77 out of 239 facilities were closed, while Mandera saw 58 closures from 269 inspections.

According to the KMPDC, the shuttered facilities exhibited multiple serious violations, including: insufficient infrastructure with inadequate space for essential departments like pharmacy, maternity, and laboratory services, poor sanitation and environmental conditions, including inadequate water supply and improper waste disposal systems, employment of unregistered medical personnel, posing significant risks to patient safety and operation without valid licenses.

The downgraded facilities faced different but equally concerning issues. Many lacked the necessary medical supplies and equipment to deliver proper care, while others had non-functional equipment or insufficient qualified personnel, including doctors, clinical officers, nurses, laboratory technicians, and pharmacists.

Dr. Kariuki emphasized that the nationwide inspection is ongoing and urged all health facilities to remain open during their expected hours of operation for the assessment.

He warned that any facility found closed during their stated operational hours shall be deemed to not be active and shall consequently be marked as closed and expunged from the register.

“The health facilities that were downgraded did not offer the full range of services that they were initially registered to provide. They lacked the requisite medical supplies, equipment, or had nonfunctional equipment; or lacked the required personnel such as doctors, clinical officers, nurses, laboratory technicians, and pharmacists,” stated the KMPDC boss.