Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has inaugurated a new board for the Clinical Officers Council, warning against uncontrolled expansion of training programmes for clinical officers.
He said on Wednesday that stronger regulation is essential to safeguard patient safety, align workforce training with national health priorities, and support the country’s push toward Universal Health Coverage under the government’s economic transformation agenda.
The Cabinet Secretary emphasised that the council plays a key statutory role in safeguarding the standards and integrity of the clinical officer profession.
The CS noted that the Council has a critical statutory mandate to regulate the training, registration, licensing, and professional conduct of Clinical Officers, adding that effective regulation is essential to maintaining high standards of care and protecting patient safety.
Clinical officers form a significant part of Kenya’s frontline health workforce, particularly in primary healthcare facilities across the country.
Duale said maintaining high professional standards within the cadre was essential to improving the quality of healthcare services and strengthening public confidence in the system.
He added that effective oversight of the health workforce was a central pillar of the government’s development priorities.
“Strengthening oversight of the health workforce is central to the Government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and the realisation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), which depends on a competent, disciplined, and well-regulated workforce.” he said.
Kenya has been pursuing expanded healthcare access through reforms aimed at improving service delivery, workforce capacity and health financing.
The Cabinet Secretary also urged stronger cooperation among professional regulatory bodies in the health sector to avoid duplication and improve coordination.
“I call for closer collaboration between the Clinical Officers Council, the Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK), and the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) to harmonise scopes of practice and improve coordination across regulatory bodies,” Duale said.
The call reflects ongoing efforts by the government to streamline health sector governance while ensuring each professional group operates within clearly defined roles.
Duale also emphasised the importance of digital transformation and improved health data integration across the sector.
“I urged the Council to work closely with the Social Health Authority (SHA) and the Digital Health Agency (DHA) to strengthen quality of care and support the integration of health data systems,” he added.
Health authorities said integrated data systems can help improve patient care, track health outcomes and support policy planning.
The Cabinet Secretary also warned against professional misconduct and negligence within the health sector, stressing that patient safety must remain the top priority.
On professional accountability, he warned that negligence, fraud, or actions that endanger patients will not be tolerated, urging the Board to strengthen disciplinary mechanisms and safeguard the integrity of the Clinical Officer profession.
The inauguration meeting was attended by several senior officials from the health ministry and regulatory institutions.
Among those present were Principal Secretary for Public Health and Professional Standards Mary Muthoni, Director-General for Health Patrick Amoth, Director of Curative and Nursing Services Andrew Toro, and the council’s Chief Executive Officer and Registrar Ibrahim Wako.
Officials said the newly appointed board will play a critical role in guiding regulation of clinical training institutions, enforcing professional standards and supporting reforms aimed at strengthening Kenya’s health system.
The ministry expects the council to work closely with other health sector institutions to ensure the country develops a well-trained and accountable health workforce capable of meeting growing healthcare demands.