Nairobi eye clinic in trouble over errors

The fate of Eye and U Limited, a high-end eye clinic based in Westlands, hangs on the balance after the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board (KMPDB) changed its tune on its registration.

The medical specialists’ regulator on Thursday appeared to be changing its stance on the proprietor, Dr Samira Soni, after MPs questioned her competence following reported series of surgical missteps.

The cases, brought to the attention of the National Assembly’s Committee by the Ophthalmological Society of Kenya include an incident at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) where she reportedly plucked out both eyes of an accident victim without her seniors’ approval.

A report prepared by the committee following weeks of investigation concludes that Dr Soni was irregularly certified by the regulator to provide services as an eye specialist. She is the chief executive officer of Eye and U Limited, a clinic that mainly handles Kenya’s elite including high ranking government officials and politicians.

“I am shocked as chair of the Board. If we had all the information earlier we could have taken action very quickly,” said KMPDB chairman George Magoha after his team was confronted with the committee’s findings.

Dr Soni holds bachelors in both medicine and surgery.

In 2004, she graduated from the University of Nairobi with master of medicine degree in ophthalmology.

Prior to the revelations by the Committee, Prof Magoha had told MPs that the KMPDB approved application of Dr Soni in 2014 after she met the minimum requirements as a specialist ophthalmologist.