A world bank report said more than half of the doctors in urban public
hospitals do not adhere to guidelines on managing diseases such malaria.
FILE PHOTO
It was early morning on January 20, 2012, when Mary visited Nakuru Level
Five Hospital for follow-up treatment after a tooth extraction.
The doctor prescribed painkillers and Mary walked away. But this would give birth to an emergency visit to the hospital.
As it turned out, Mary had gastritis — an inflammation of the stomach or small intestine walls — and the doctor had prescribed ibuprofen, an anti-inflammatory drug that worsens gastritis or ulcers.
“I remember feeling pain, which would subside when I ate something. But around 3am, I woke up sweating. I had severe stomach pains,” she narrated.
She continued: “I went back to the hospital and after examination, I heard a nurse comment to another saying: 'Yaani daktari alimuandikiaje brufen na hata hakuuliza kama ana ulcers?' (How could the doctor prescribe ibuprofen without asking whether she had ulcers?’”
Mary is yet another case of wrong prescription by a doctor.
So is the medical profession in a crisis? It depends on whom you ask.
Three years ago, a World Bank survey reported two out of five clinicians were unable to correctly diagnose common diseases that contribute heavily to the country’s mortality rate — malaria, acute diarrhoea, pneumonia and diabetes.
The report also said more than half of the doctors in urban public hospitals do not adhere to guidelines on managing the diseases.
This has partly been blamed on the self-sponsored system said to have watered down the quality of training, a claim Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board CEO Daniel Yumbya dismisses.
“I think older doctors just take neater notes but they are not different from the younger ones,” said Mr Yumbya.
The doctor prescribed painkillers and Mary walked away. But this would give birth to an emergency visit to the hospital.
As it turned out, Mary had gastritis — an inflammation of the stomach or small intestine walls — and the doctor had prescribed ibuprofen, an anti-inflammatory drug that worsens gastritis or ulcers.
“I remember feeling pain, which would subside when I ate something. But around 3am, I woke up sweating. I had severe stomach pains,” she narrated.
She continued: “I went back to the hospital and after examination, I heard a nurse comment to another saying: 'Yaani daktari alimuandikiaje brufen na hata hakuuliza kama ana ulcers?' (How could the doctor prescribe ibuprofen without asking whether she had ulcers?’”
Mary is yet another case of wrong prescription by a doctor.
So is the medical profession in a crisis? It depends on whom you ask.
Three years ago, a World Bank survey reported two out of five clinicians were unable to correctly diagnose common diseases that contribute heavily to the country’s mortality rate — malaria, acute diarrhoea, pneumonia and diabetes.
The report also said more than half of the doctors in urban public hospitals do not adhere to guidelines on managing the diseases.
This has partly been blamed on the self-sponsored system said to have watered down the quality of training, a claim Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board CEO Daniel Yumbya dismisses.
“I think older doctors just take neater notes but they are not different from the younger ones,” said Mr Yumbya.
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