Ruai Family Hospitals license revoked, management ordered to transfer all in-patients

The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council has revoked the operating license of Ruai Family Hospital over alleged violation of COVID-19 Vaccination regulations.

According to the council, the hospital, which had been designated as a COVID-19 Vaccination Centre, has been diverting vaccines to other unauthorised premises.

“The Council is in receipt of credible information that the Ruai Family Hospital which is designated as a COVID-19 Vaccination Centre has;
Contravened the rules and regulations governing the COVID-19 deployment; and Diverted vaccines meant for use at the said facility under unclear circumstances to other unauthorized premises, and carried out the vaccination exercises in an uncontrolled environment, wherein the quality and efficacy of vaccines cannot be ascertained and thus endangering public safety,” said the council in a statement issued on Tuesday.

“The Council notes that the continued operation of the facility, brings into question the safety of the patients being managed therein.”

The hospital has consequently been directed to close the facility immediately and in consultation with patients /relatives organize to transfer all the in-patients to other facilities of their choice within the next 24 hours.

The management has further been directed to appear before the Council’s Disciplinary and Ethics Committee on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 accompanied by all the personnel who have been involved in the handling of COVID-19 vaccines allocated to the Hospital in the last one month.

On its part the hospital admits that one of its nurses, who recently resigned was pictured vaccinating people at a political setting in Murang’a.

The said employee served as Health Care Manager for RFH Specialist Hospital and had been directly overseeing the Covid-19 vaccination exercise and was the key custodian of the vaccines.

The hospital maintains the nurse was not sanctioned by the hospital or its leadership.

“Management has since called the staff for her statement. She confirms that she was not under any direct authority to take part in the exercise but did so on her own volition,” said the hospital in a statement.

“A Tally of our Vaccine allocation from Dandora Depot confirms that 160 doses of what was meant for the hospital for public vaccination was used in the exercise… Whatever our staff do on their free time outside work remains governed by the laws of the land. On this particular issue, we consider this a gross misconduct as it involved misappropriation and misuse of what was by extension hospital property.”