Kenya mulls new law to enhance quality of patient care at health facilities

Nairobi: Kenya’s Ministry of Health and partners have fast-tracked the formulation of new legislation to ensure that patients at health facilities receive quality care, senior officials said on Monday.

The Quality of Care Bill is expected to improve the provision of care, treatment and management of diseases in both public and private health facilities, said Kigen Bartilol, director of health standards, regulations and quality assurance in the Ministry of Health.

Bartilol made the remarks at the African Consortium for Quality Improvement Research in Frontline Healthcare (ACQUIRE) Leadership Forum held in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, Xinhua news agency reported.

The forum’s participants, including senior policymakers, healthcare providers, researchers and campaigners, agreed that African countries required vibrant laws to boost the quality of care for patients admitted to hospitals.

Bartilol said the envisaged quality of care bill is rooted in upgrading infrastructure and reskilling health workers to enable them to provide quality, safe and seamless care to patients suffering from infectious and non-communicable diseases.

While acknowledging the strain exerted on public health facilities due to a surge in vector-borne diseases alongside terminal ailments like cancer and diabetes, Bartilol said the new bill is critical to enhancing the quality of care and achieving the universal health coverage agenda.

Lydia Okutoyi, director of healthcare quality at Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya’s largest referral hospital, stressed that standardizing the quality of patient care is crucial to improving the resilience of health systems in the country.

Okutoyi noted that Kenya’s health system faces myriad challenges, including understaffing, inadequate diagnostics and medicines, and a lack of preparedness for pandemics, adding that new policies and legislation are key to making it fit for purpose.

She called for patient-centered improvement in registration, storage, and retrieval of records, feedback, and follow-up mechanisms to ensure that the quality of care at health facilities is above board.

–IANS