Seaside hospital shut down for poor health standards

The government has shut down Seaside Medical Facility and Nursing Home in Ganjoni, Mombasa County, for failing to comply with health standards.

A team from the Health ministry led by the Director of Medical Services Dr Jackson Kioko said the facility had cases of patient mismanagement and maintained patient records poorly.

The staff are also said to be operating using expired practice licences.

The hospital lacks proper waste management systems including having no appropriate colour-coded bins for waste segregation and no onsite waste disposal mechanism.

The facility also lacks fire safety equipment, taps in the outpatient wing are defective and there is no free flowing water. The hospital walls are also dusty and have not been repainted.

INSPECTION

Dr Kioko said that there were a lot of complains from patients across the country over the quality of care provided in hospitals, clinics and pharmacies.

“We have been doing a joint inspection of all health facilities in the Coast region not just in Mombasa County. Part of the exercise that was launched by the Health Cabinet Secretary Cecily Kariuki on a rapid response initiative to ensure that both public and private facilities meet the right health standards set by the Ministry to be able to provide healthcare needed by Kenyans,” he said.

The exercise is expected to last 90 days.

“We visited this facility on Tuesday May 14th, inspected it and we observed that it did not comply with the standards. We noted that the quality of care being provided here is not very good, doesn’t meet the standards,” Dr Kioko said.

He said that some of the staff were unqualified and those who were not licenced to practice.

“The infrastructure for the laboratory and pharmacy rooms were all below standard. We observed that the waste management and disposal systems were below the standards. They were not there.”

The theatre, a small room, opens directly to the general ward, the health official said.

“This is not the standard theatre for such a facility. With those noncompliance issues we ordered for its closure on Tuesday,” he explained.

CRACKDOWN

Dr Kioko said that there the notice put outside the facility saying it was closed for renovation was illegal.

“The facility was closed due to noncompliance and that is an illegality on its own. We are here to confirm that this hospital remains closed,” Dr Kioko said.

He assured Kenyans that the exercise will go on even after the stipulated timeline to ensure that the health facilities are compliant.

“The government through the Ministry of Health and various regulatory bodies will ensure that Kenyans get the required services. It is not a one-time exercise,” Dr Kioko said.

In Kilifi County, 127 health centres were inspected out of which 10 were closed.

“We passed near Mtwapa and closed 10 chemists on our way to Mombasa because they lacked qualified personnel and licences,” he said.

Dr Kioko said that they are working very closely with county administrators to ensure compliance of facilities within their area of jurisdiction.

Patients at the Seaside hospital were discharged or transferred to other hospitals.

Mombasa County has over 1,000 registered facilities, according to Dr Kioko, and about 100 of them will be closed.