The Senate has launched investigations into an incident where a man who had been declared dead woke up screaming in the morgue at Kapkatet Hospital in Kericho County.
The Senate Committee on Health started the probe to determine whether there was negligence from the hospital and if the family of the deceased should be compensated.
The victim later passed on after the first declaration of death had been found to have been a mistake.
Senators stated they will invite Pathologist Dr Titus Ngululu who performed the postmortem on Peter Kiplangat Kigen over his report.
Dr Ngululu was accused by Senator Abdullahi Ali of trying to cover up for Kapkatet Hospital by omitting crucial information.
The Senator claimed the pathologist's report on Kigen's death was misleading and accused Dr Ngululu of excluding information on an incision that was done on the deceased at the morgue after the wrongful declaration of death.
It is suspected that the incision, meant to input morgue preservation chemicals into Kigen's body, may have led to his ultimate death. He had woken up in pain after morgue attendants cut his body in preparation for preservation.
KMPDC CEO Daniel Yumbya who appeared before the committee was also put on task to explain why cases of medical negligence were on the rise.
The KMPDC boss told senators that the agency had 62 cases of medical negligence in 2021 so far compared to 79 filed last year.
According to a report, Obstetrics and Gynecologists account for the highest number of negligence cases with 360 followed by internal medicine and surgery with 198 and 181 respectively.
Yumbya stated that the KMPDC has heard and determined 1172 cases while 129 cases are pending at various stages of investigations.
The KMPDC stated: “We also receive complaints from a patient’s relatives, guardians, caregivers and also the media. Upon receipt, the complaints are submitted to the Council’s legal department for processing before they are tabled before the Disciplinary & Ethics Committee (DEC)."
Of the determined cases, one health institution was deregistered, 8 had their licenses cancelled while 18 had their licenses suspended for 6-12 months.
He encouraged patients who feel they did not receive quality healthcare while undergoing treatment to lodge a complaint with the Council adding that it's their right.
