By NATION Correspondent Posted Monday, January 11 2010 at 21:50
New regulations have been issued to streamline operations of nurses who run private clinics. The Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK) has prohibited the medical workers from claiming that what they run are hospitals or nursing homes.
In a Kenya Gazette notice, NCK registrar Elizabeth Oywer said the nurses should also display their licences at their premises, in accordance with their code of conduct.
In the rules, nurses are also expected to keep in their private clinics adequate stocks of essential drugs. They are also required to maintain an accurate record of all the drugs.
“When death occurs in his/her clinic, a nurse is expected to inform the MoH (medical officer of health) in his area as well as the local officer commanding police division without delay,” says Ms Oywer in the statement.
Valid licence
“A registered or enrolled nurse who undertakes or offers medical or nursing care services without a valid licence commits professional malpractice,” she adds.
According to the notice, the council may regulate the fees to be charged for consultations, visits, treatment and referrals in private clinics that are managed by nurses. “The council is also expected to investigate and determine complaints relating to fees charged in private clinics by nurses,” Mrs Oywer says.
According to the notice, no nurse shall be issued with a licence to open and operate a private clinic unless he or she has produced, to the satisfaction of the council, an inspection report on the prescribed form. A licensed nurse may employ a trained assistant to undertake defined duties under supervision of the licence holder.
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