Doctors condemn politicians filming patients in hospital for selfish gain

The move by leaders to politicise health by filming patients in wards has been strongly condemned by doctors.

The Kenya Medical Association (KMA) has raised concerns over the rising trend of leaders and members of the public staging photography sessions, live broadcasts, and media events within healthcare facilities for selfish gain.

In a statement, KMA Secretary General Lyndah Kemunto said filming or photographing in wards, corridors, and other patient facing areas amounts to a breach of patients’ legal rights, ethical protections, and fundamental human dignity.

Doctor say such actions are neither advocacy nor service, but exploitative practices that undermine the right to privacy, confidentiality, and respectful care.

"Medical workspaces should be respected and given the dignity they deserve," reads a section of the KMA statement.

In the recent past, politicians have filmed themselves in wards, where patients are getting care, with no sense of privacy.

A section of politicians also get to theatre where complex surgeries take place, remaining ignorant of carrying germs that risk infections to patients, and themselves.

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They also visit paediatric wards and film children.

Shockingly as they walk in theatres and wards dressed in suits, politicians who move with crowds to hospitals do not wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs).

This is worrying as they risk carrying hospital germs to the public and their homes.

Further, politicians publish the videos and photographs on their social media accounts.

KMA maintains that intrusion of patient privacy by politicians at national and county level violate legal and ethical frameworks.

The association argued that the Constitution, guarantees every person's right to dignity and privacy under Articles 28 and 31.

Additionally, the Data Protection Act, 2019, classifies health data as sensitive personal data, and recording or broadcasting a patient’s image or condition without explicit informed consent violates multiple provisions of the Act and is actionable by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC).

The Health Act, 2017, further establishes statutory rights to privacy, confidentiality, and dignified treatment.

At the professional level, KMA noted that the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Council (KMPDC) Code of Professional Conduct and Discipline, and the WMA Declaration of Geneva are unambiguous in the commitment to patient dignity.

The bodies, KMA adds protects privacy, and further affirm that the patient-physician relationship must remain free from political interference.

"Patients in hospitals and especially in public facilities, who are economically disadvantaged and unaware of their rights, are particularly vulnerable to this exploitation. Their vulnerability makes our obligation to protect them greater, not lesser," reads the statement.

KMA has directed politicians and public figures to immediately cease all media events, photo opportunities, and live streams inside clinical and patient-facing areas of health facilities.

Health facility administrators have also been asked to enforce strict no-filming policies, require informed consent for any photography involving patients, and designate staff with the authority to penalise any visitor, regardless of status, who compromises patient dignity.

Additionally, they want KMPDC, to issue a formal directive clarifying that facilitating political filming in clinical settings constitutes professional misconduct, and must investigate reported incidents.

Nevertheless, the association wants KMPDC to investigate incidents in the public domain and publish enforcement guidance specific to patient data in healthcare settings.

KMA further calls on the national and county governments to enact regulations explicitly criminalizing the filming or broadcasting of patients without documented informed consent.

Doctors and other healthcare practitioners should protect patients, whom they provide care, and prevent them from having their privacy infringed.

"To the Kenyan healthcare practitioner, you have both the right and the duty to protect your patients from violations of privacy, dignity, and political intrusion," KMA cautioned healthcare providers.

The statement emphasised, "KMA stands behind every practitioner who upholds this duty, even under pressure. You are empowered to decline access to clinical spaces. Your patients’ rights come first".

The association however maintained it's supports legitimate political advocacy for healthcare investment through proper channels such as budgets, legislation, and policy.

"Patients are not props, hospital wards are not campaign venues, and human suffering is not content," it warned.