Unqualified people working as private clinical officers risk Sh500,000 fine or more than a year in jail or both if a new law repealing The Clinical Officers Act is adopted.
The Clinical Officers (Training, Registration and Licensing) Bill waiting tabling in National Assembly proposes creation of the Clinical Officers Council of Kenya to supervise and control the profession’s training centres and practitioners.
The bill sponsored by Bureti MP Leonard Sang empowers the council under its disciplinary committee to punish clinical officers and institutions violating professional laws.
A private clinical officer should be registered and licensed by the council and must have served as a senior clinical or senior medical officer for at least three years.
“No clinical officer engaged in private practice will keep open his clinic unless the clinical officer is personally present for more than eight hours a day,” reads the bill.
All practicing clinical officers will have to undergo fresh registration after 12 months of enacting the law to eliminate quacks.
The bill, however, limits certified private clinical officers from offering certain medical services and are only required to offer necessary First Aid and without delay refer the patient to the nearest medical officer.
Some of diseases private clinical officers are to treat include childhood diseases such as measles, eye diseases, blood disorders, skin diseases, breathing diseases, poisoning and sexually transmitted infections.
The diseases they should treat and drugs to administer are categorised in five schedules.
They are barred from handling diseases in the Sixth Schedule such as cholera, cancer, but they can only offer first aid.
“A clinical officer who fails to comply with the rules will be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding Sh500,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both,” the bill reads.
The bill also imposes a Sh500,000 fine or three-year jail term or both on managers of unapproved training institutions admitting and issuing certificates to people as qualified clinical officers.
“A person who obstructs or causes the obstruction of the council from entering and inspecting such institutions, commits an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding Sh500,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both,” rthe bill reads.
People not registered by the council will also be barred from offering medical services as private clinical officers after 12 months of enacting the law.
Those registered will be renewing their license annually from December 31.
“Any person who attempts to obtain or obtains registration by false pretences or who utters a false certificate with intent to obtain registration will be liable to a fine not exceeding Sh100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or both,” it reads.
The council also charged with issuing, renew, cancel, withdraw or suspend licenses of clinical officers will strike off names of persons who fail to renew their license within one year.
An officer whose license has been suspended or name removed from the register and fails to surrender the certificate to the council risks Sh20,000 fine.
The council, however, allows any aggrieved person to appeal its decision to the High Court within 30 days. The council comprising of 10 members will be chaired by a person nominated competitively by the Health Cabinet Secretary. The chairperson must have served as a clinical officer for at least 10 years.