The Ministry of Health has closed down 15 medical facilities around the City of Kigali for failing to meet minimum standards. According to the ministry, the crackdown is part of routine inspection done on quarterly basis across the country to ensure medical facilities and people offering medical services meet the set standards. The latest operation, which was conducted in collaboration with Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), mainly focused on private hospitals and those closed are from the three districts of the city. Speaking to The New Times, Malick Kayumba, the Head of the Health Communication Department at Rwanda Biomedical Centre, said that the operation found that some medics in these clinics had fake documents. Others, according to Kayumba, were found without licenses for the healthcare services they were providing, while others did not have academic qualifications. Other criteria include sanitation, storage of medical supplies, and equipment. “We want to ensure quality standard of service delivery, and eliminate malpractices that in most cases arise from the unqualified medical personnel,” he said. In a subsequent official communiqué released by the Ministry of Health, all owners of the medical facilities and workers who were found wanting were called upon to stop immediately. “We call upon all medical facilities to ensure they get necessary licenses and other documentation from relevant authorities. They must also endeavour to authenticate the qualification of the medical workers they employ,” reads part of the statement. The Ministry of Health also asked private clinic owners to make sure that they always respect the laws and regulations put in place to govern the medical profession and the ministerial order on medical activities allowed to be given at each level. “The Ministry of Health asks all the institutions, especially local governments, to participate in regular inspection to make sure these anomalies are identified beforehand before they can have any effect on people’s lives,” it reads. The operation is still ongoing and, according to the ministry, owners of such clinics will be brought to account for endangering people’s lives. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
