A parliamentary health committee has recommended the removal of the current board of the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) following the gruesome mistake that led to a surgeon opening up the skull of the wrong patient for a brain surgery.

The committee has in a report accused the 11-member board of failure to carry out its functions for national interest.

“In recognition of the board’s failure to carry out its functions in the national interest, the appointing authority in accordance with the State Corporations Act, constitutes a new board,” the report says in part.

The committee says a new board should then vet KNH management with a view of placing the right staff with the right qualifications in top positions.

“There exists a culture of reaction and unresponsiveness rather than proactiveness, characterising the hospital,” the committee says in the report.

The committee chaired by Murang’a woman representative Sabina Chege has also recommended that medical regulatory bodies take punitive action against health personnel involved in the brain surgery mix-up. The team further asked Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet to take charge of security at KNH.

RAPE ALLEGATIONS AT KNH

The committee also noted that there had been no formal reports on the allegations of rape made to the administration at KNH, adding that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is yet to complete its investigations.

The committee asked the DCI to complete investigations into alleged rape cases at KNH and submit a report within 14 days.