Omnicare Medical popularly known as Body by design has moved to court challenging the decision by the medical board to close down their facility after a patient died following a plastic surgery procedure.
The Kenya Medical Dentists and Practitioners Board closed down the hospital on Thursday evening following alleged uproar from the victims family following death of Lucy Kamau at the facility.
The patient is alleged to have succumbed in now unclear circumstances as the postmortem report from all three pathologists have been inconclusive.
Lucy went to body by design for a liposuction and after the procedure she was discharged but allegedly got complications days later leading to her being admitted at Nairobi where another surgery was carried out.
In court papers filed in court, Omnicare through lawyer Danstan Omari says the medical board condemned them unheard and saying they acted without following the due process in issuing the closure notice of the hospital.
Omnicare says they have qualified doctors, medical officers and nurses specialising in cosmetics medical procedures arguing that the medical board acted in violation of the Law by closing the facility.
According to court documents, on October 16, 2024, the deceased Lucy walked into the Omnicare office for a medical procedure known as Liposuction and after a series of tests on her by the hospital and MP Shah Hospital, the patient was declared fit for the medical procedure and the same was done.
They further say the patient was supposed to be discharged on October 17 but on her own volition requested for more days at the facility and the same was granted.
It further says that on the October 18 she complained of chest pains and was attended to by doctors and nurses at the facility.
She left the facility on October 22 2024 after she confirmed that she was ready to be discharged on recommendations of the doctor at the facility.
“She came back to the facility at 6PM but the facility was already closed for the day’s business and the patient’s relative called a Medical Officer from the facility who followed them to Nairobi Hospital where she was attended to and a second medical procedure done on her at Nairobi Hospital on the 23rd day of October, 2024. Unfortunately, the said patient died on the 26th day of October, 2024 while undergoing treatment at Nairobi Hospital.” reads court papers.
The health facility says that Kenya Medical Dentists and Practitioners Board wrote a letter to them indicating that they would be visiting the facility on October 31, 2024 and true to their word on the said date the board arrived at the premises with thousands of unruly goons who barricaded the hospital threatening to burn it down.
They claim that there appears to be an obvious scheme to frustrate them as the medical board has already, without notice closed down the hospital’s daily operations thereby threatened the livelihoods of the many Kenyans that have been employed by the facility.
It is their argument that there appears to be an attempt by the board and others to intentionally and maliciously conspire to make the hospital’s reputation questionable in a bid to frustrate their efforts to remain in compliance with the Kenyan Constitution, health laws and other enabling provisions of the law that relates to the matter.
