This archive report was first published on 28 October 2019.
Kenya National Union of Nurses General Secretary Seth Panyako has secured a deal with AAR insurance company to provide professional indemnity cover for nurses, following the signing of the Health Amendment Bill into law.
As of January 2020, more than 29,000 nurses will be covered under the deal negotiated by their union and employer, with the cost of the cover to be deducted from their salaries.
According to Panyako, every nurse will be required to pay Sh9,600 annually, with the union working with employers to arrange for the deductions.
The new cover is a result of the Health Amendment Bill, which makes it mandatory for all health workers to be enrolled in a professional indemnity cover.
Kenya has recently seen a number of high-profile cases of professional misconduct, including a nurse being fired at KNH after marking the wrong patient for surgery, and three nurses being sued following the murder of a cancer patient.
With the new cover, the union will no longer have to bear the costs of litigation, and cases will be left to lawyers.
The cover will also extend to interns and will be a requirement for nurses to renew their licenses.
AAR CEO Nixon Shigoli said the indemnity deal will cover lawyers' fees, loss of documents, and expenses of insured nurses.
