Clinical Officers (Training, Registration and Licensing) Act

This Act may be cited as the Clinical Officers (Training, Registration and Licensing) Act.

Section 2 provides definitions of terms used in the Act, including 'approved training institution', 'Cabinet Secretary', 'certificate', 'clinic', 'clinical officer', 'Council', 'Kenya Clinical Officers Association', 'medical centre', 'private practice', 'register', and 'Registrar'.

Section title: "Co-operation with other organisations" and mentions the Commission for University Education and other regulators in the field of education.

The common seal must be kept in the custody of the Registrar or such other person as the Council may direct; the seal must be authenticated by the signature of the Chairperson or the Registrar.

The Council, its staff and Council members are not subject to liability for loss or damage to a person resulting from acts or omissions done in good faith and without negligence while performing or intending to perform duties or powers under this Act.

Establishes the Clinical Officers Council of Kenya and lists powers the Council may exercise, including suing and being sued, acquiring and disposing of property, borrowing money, entering contracts, and performing acts necessary for its functions.

Defines the composition of the Clinical Officers Council, listing member categories and qualification/appointment rules including Gazette notification, Cabinet Secretary appointments, the one‑third principle with attention to marginalised and disabled persons, three‑year terms with possible reappointment, and grounds for vacancy.

The Council is tasked with supervising and controlling training and professional practice of clinical officers in Kenya and performs a list of functions including advising government policy, prescribing entry requirements, approving training institutions and programs, registering and licensing clinical officers, maintaining registers, publishing registered names annually, promoting codes of practice, regulating professional conduct and standards, collaborating with relevant bodies, prescribing badges or uniforms, and carrying out other implementation functions.

The Council has the powers necessary to perform its functions and specific powers including managing assets, receiving funds, investing surplus funds, setting or waiving fees, recovering debts, maintaining bank accounts, and collaborating with other bodies.

The Council must conduct and regulate its business and affairs as set out in the First Schedule; except as provided in that Schedule, the Council may regulate its own procedure.

The Council must pay its members remuneration that is approved by the Cabinet Secretary on the advice of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.

The Council may employ such staff as it considers necessary; staff shall be employed on terms and conditions determined by the Council upon the advice of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.

The Council must approve all institutions that train persons for registration under the Act; contravening subsection (2) is an offence punishable by a fine up to five hundred thousand shillings or imprisonment up to three years.

The Council has power to enter and inspect any institution training persons for registration under the Act; a person who obstructs that inspection commits an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both.

Establishes a Registrar appointed by the Council (competitive process) with at least ten years as a clinical officer; defines the Registrar's term, roles (CEO and secretary), duties to manage staff, create and maintain a Clinical Officer's Register, publish an annual list by 31 March, make register alterations subject to Council directions, and allows public inspection and copies on payment of prescribed fee.

Section 16 sets out that the Council shall register every qualified person in the register; the Registrar shall issue registration certificates with Council approval; an aggrieved person may appeal to the High Court within sixty days; and a registered person is entitled to render medical services in approved Kenyan medical institutions.

A person must not render medical services in Kenya as a clinical officer unless registered by the Council; contravention is an offence with fines or imprisonment.

If a person's name is deleted from the register, that person must surrender their certificate of registration to the Council within thirty days of the deletion's publication in the Gazette; if the person has died, the deceased's legal representative must surrender the certificate to the Council.

The Council must prescribe the title(s) that may be used to show a person is registered under this Act.

A person must not engage in private practice as a clinical officer unless they hold a valid practicing certificate issued under this Act.

Applications for a private practicing licence must be made in duplicate to the Registrar in the prescribed form; the application must be accompanied by the prescribed fee; the Council must issue a practicing certificate to a duly registered, unsuspended clinical officer within sixty days of receipt; the Registrar must keep one copy of each application; any person may inspect the register or obtain copies/extracts on payment of the prescribed fee.

Persons may not practise clinical medicine after 12 months from commencement unless they hold a registration certificate and practising licence; the Council may manage licences (renew, refuse, cancel, withdraw, suspend) and the Registrar must record licence issue dates; aggrieved persons may appeal to the High Court within 30 days.

The Cabinet Secretary, after consulting the Council, must prescribe by regulations the terms and conditions for the business and practice of a clinical officer engaged in private practice.

Clinical officers must take annual professional indemnity cover; health institutions must insure annually against professional liability of their staff.

Establishes a Disciplinary Committee, lists its membership, gives it functions to handle complaints, inspect premises, seize objects, seek legal advice, request assistance, and requires it to regulate its own procedures.

The Committee may hold inquiries, administer oaths, and (subject to regulations) require witnesses and documents; persons removed from the register or with suspended licences must surrender their registration certificate or licence; clinical officers who fail to surrender commit an offence punishable by a fine up to twenty thousand shillings; aggrieved clinical officers may appeal to the High Court within sixty days.

Defines the Council's funds as monies or assets that accrue to or vest in the Council in the course of exercising its powers or performing its functions under the Act.

The Council's financial year is a 12-month period ending on 30 June each year.

The Council must prepare annual estimates of its revenue and expenditure at least three months before each financial year, include specified expenditure items, approve them before the year starts, and submit them to the Cabinet Secretary for approval.

The Registrar must, under the direction of the Council, keep proper books and records of the Council's income, expenditure and assets; the Council's accounts must be audited and reported in accordance with the Public Audit Act (Cap. 412B).

The Council may invest the Council's funds in specified securities or banks, and the National Treasury may approve other securities or banks from time to time.

The Cabinet Secretary must, after consultation with the Council, make rules for carrying out this Act, including specified topics listed in subsections (2)(a)–(f).