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{
    "id": 882909,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/882909/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 149,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Sabina Chege (",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 884,
        "legal_name": "Sabina Wanjiru Chege",
        "slug": "sabina-wanjiru-chege"
    },
    "content": "board reported that out of the 106 recognised specialists in the country, only 38 had received direct supervision. Dr. Soni’s was therefore not an isolated case. The Committee took this matter seriously because we need to caution Kenyans. 4. The Committee however, observes that one of the letters of referral relied on from Dr. Jyoti Trivedi did not meet requirements because the letter clearly stated that Dr. Trivedi simply knew Dr. Soni as a schoolmate, and not supervisor. In fact, Dr. Trivedi used the letterhead of Lions First Eye Hospital where she had worked, a hospital not recognised then for specialist training. The board did not critically analyse the contents of this letter to see that it vouched for conduct and knowledge rather than competence of practice, and did not acknowledge the fact that Lions First Eye itself was not a recognised facility. 5. Dr. Soni’s other listed referee, Dr. Margaret Njuguna, who wrote to the board vide letter dated 13th January 2014, had expressly stated that she had little interactions with her professionally. Dr. Soni then had another referee, Dr. Millicent Kariuki Wanyoike who wrote to the board vouching for her credentials. There is no evidence that the new referee was introduced to the board procedurally, neither, did the board recognise that it did not have the Upper Hill Medical Centre among its recognised centres for training. 6. As evidenced by her previous supervisors, peers and in her own admission before the Committee, Dr. Samira Soni was a qualified doctor but her competence as an ophthalmological surgeon was very limited. The KMPDB however reported that it had no documented or reported cases of malpractice by the said doctor. 7. By the Chairman’s own admission, the board was shock on some of the allegations levelled against Dr. Soni. The board was reactive and sat back to wait for Dr. Soni’s peers and previous supervisors to formally record their experiences with her rather than, proactively seek them out and conduct its own independent assessment. 8. The Committee acknowledges the country faces a shortage of critical health personnel, especially in ophthalmology, but observes that this should not be a pretext to open floodgates for irregular recognition of specialists in Kenya. 9. Dr. Samira Soni applied for registration and licensing of her hospital, Eye and U Clinic as a health centre located along Waiyaki Way on 7th May 2014 and the said application was approved on 9th May 2014, that is, two days after. On 30th June 2014, the registration and licensing of the facility was ratified by the full board during its 108th sitting. The KMPDB reported that the registration of the clinic was procedural, and Dr. Soni was the administrator with Indian sub-specialists handling medical procedures. The board’s taskforce reviewing the matter found that the clinic was state of the art with a clear schedule of rotation by the doctors from Indian origin. 10. The taskforce appointed by the board to look into the matter did not however look into the process of the specialist recognition of the said doctor but examined operations of the clinic, which was an oversight. 11. The Chairman of the Ophthalmological Society of Kenya (OSK), Dr. Muchai Gachago, stated that having been at the forefront of raising the matter initially, his concern on the operations of the clinic had been addressed after investigations found that the clinic had acquired requisite approvals and was indeed state of the art. Dr. Gachago had been co-opted to the taskforce to review the matter. From the foregoing, the Committee makes the following recommendations: The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}