The Kenya Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Board (KMLTTB) has expressed serious concern regarding the rising incidence of falsified academic documents submitted by job seekers to local governments.
Consequently, the board has issued a caution to county governments against hiring unqualified individuals as laboratory technologists and technicians in their healthcare institutions.
Luke Chemwok, an official from the KMLTTB, has appealed to county governments to diligently authenticate the credibility of credentials presented by job seekers associated with KMLTTB before considering their employment.
Chemwok’s statement comes in response to apprehensions voiced by stakeholders in the healthcare sector across the North Rift and Western regions.
These concerns center on the notable presence of inadequately trained laboratory technologists who have managed to secure positions within county government-operated healthcare establishments.
However, the gravest repercussions are observed within private healthcare institutions. A substantial number of unqualified practitioners have infiltrated the sector, specifically as laboratory technologists and technicians in the aforementioned regions, as outlined by Chemwok.
Chemwok delivered these remarks subsequent to his attendance at a court proceeding involving the arrest of a former senior union leader.
The individual in question was arraigned for impersonating a medical laboratory technologist at a public health hospital. This arrest was made despite the individual’s failure to register with KMLTTB.
Remarkably, the suspect had been employed within the critical laboratory department of a Uasin Gishu county government-operated health center for over seven years, even though they had never undergone training at any of the Kenya Medical Training Colleges.
Chemwok emphasized the intensified efforts to identify and apprehend unqualified laboratory technologists and technicians operating within both public and private medical institutions. He highlighted the widespread nature of this issue across the region.
“The well-being of numerous patients who entrust these facilities on a daily basis is in jeopardy. A prompt response is imperative to prevent a significant crisis by eradicating this problem,” Chemwok stressed.
“The involvement of unqualified personnel in health facilities poses a substantial risk to patients requiring their services within the laboratory,” he cautioned.
A comprehensive crackdown has been rolled out across various counties, leading to the arrest of numerous unqualified laboratory technologists and technicians in counties such as Nandi, Elgeyo Marakwet, and Trans Nzoia.
Additional counties on the KMLTTB’s radar include West Pokot, Bungoma, and Turkana.
“We have taken into custody several unqualified individuals functioning as lab technologists and technicians. Yet, others have chosen to go into hiding upon learning of the ongoing crackdown targeting the elimination of unqualified personnel within both public and private healthcare facilities,” Chemwok concluded.
