MoH bans spas from marketing medical procedures

The Ministry of Health has banned beauty and medical spas from offering and advertising invasive medical procedures unless properly inspected, registered and licensed as per the norms and standards.

Health PS Mary Muthoni announced today while releasing a report on the assessment of aesthetic clinics and beauty spas in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru and Eldoret.

At the same time, the ministry urged members of the public to seek plastic and cosmetic surgery services only from licensed and qualified practitioners, in order to safeguard their health and wellbeing.

In a statement, she said the assessment was initiated following a directive by the ministry to investigate compliance with licensing and safety standards after the tragic death of a patient who had sought a procedure at Omnicare Medical Limited in October last year.

The report revealed that a total of 26 aesthetic clinics were assessed in the said areas, where 20 of them (77 per cent) were found to be compliant with licensing and operational standards.

“Three facilities had had applied for registration and were awaiting approval. While another three were operating illegally without registration,” reads the report.

The multi-agency report adds that out of the 102 beauty spas that were inspected, only seven were found to be offering invasive procedures such as micro-blading and micro-needling without proper registration or qualified personnel.

Forty per cent of the assessed facilities lacked essential emergency medical supplies, while 25 per cent exhibited inadequate infection prevention and control measures. Omnicare Medical Limited was not assessed as it remains closed pending legal proceedings

The assessment committee further directs the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Council (KMPDC) to enforce immediate closure of unregistered aesthetic clinics found to be operating against the law. It also directed that all facilities with inadequate Infection Prevention and Control measures must comply with the recommended standards within 30 days of releasing the report.

“Facilities lacking emergency medical provisions must establish and equip emergency trays within 60 days. Aesthetic centres/clinics without Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) must develop and implement them within 60 days to ensure safe and standardized practices,” the report reads.

PS Muthoni said the government is developing a comprehensive regulatory framework for invasive cosmetic procedures in beauty and medical spas, aimed at enhancing public protection, safety and compliance.

“The ministry remains committed to enhancing patient safety, strengthening regulations, and ensuring that all health-related services in Kenya adhere to the highest standards of care,” said Muthoni.

On November 2, 2024, the government through the ministry announced the closure of Omnicare Medical Limited in Lavington, Nairobi,  after a patient Lucy Wambui succumbed to injuries from a procedure undertaken at the facility.

“Following a tragic incident that led to the death of Ms. Lucy Wambui who passed away after a plastic surgery procedure at Omnicare Medical Limited, operating as “Body by Design” in Nairobi, the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) conducted a comprehensive investigation into the facility’s practices and standards. The findings revealed serious non-compliance with medical institution regulations, specifically under Sections 4 and 15 of the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Act (Cap 253),” PS Muthoni said then.

She added that an inspection at the said facility had found it was operating below the required medical standards, failing to meet patient safety regulations crucial for protecting the health and well-being of patients. In response, she said, KMPDC had ordered the immediate closure of the facility to ensure public safety until all necessary corrective actions are implemented to guarantee compliance with patient safety standards.

However, through lawyer Danstan Omari, Omnicare Medical dismissed the claims that the complications that led to Wambui’s death were related to the cosmetic surgery she had undertaken at its premises on October 16.

The lawyer said the deceased underwent cosmetic surgery before she was discharged, but chose to spend one more day at the facility and left on October 18 and went home. Omari said Wambui went back to the hospital, but it had closed hence proceeding to the Nairobi Hospital where she died four days later. She had undergone another surgery at the hospital, he alleged.

A postmortem conducted by chief government pathologist Dr. Johansen Oduor, in the presence of the deceased’s family and Omnicare Medical’s pathologists, indicated that she died of perforations in her small intestines.

Omnicare Medical said perforations cause death within 12 hours of their occurrence, therefore if the perforation that caused Wambui’s death occurred at its premises, the patient should have died immediately after she left the facility.

Omari said more tests and investigations need to be done on three critical questions; on where, when and how the perforations occurred.

Following Wambui’s tragic death the Health ministry announced on November 18, 2024, that inspection exercise of 160 cosmetic clinics across Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret, and Mombasa would be conducted.