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{
    "id": 1021667,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1021667/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 243,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nyaribari Chache, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Richard Tong’i",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2611,
        "legal_name": "Richard Nyagaka Tongi",
        "slug": "richard-nyagaka-tongi"
    },
    "content": "Look at Hon. Mishra. In a short period of time, he has been able to establish one of the best hospitals, not just in Kenya, but in East and Central Africa, by using local experts. That is a demonstration of the capacity we have as a country. If we have many people coming up with such facilities, Kenya is going to have good medical facilities for our people so that they do not have to go abroad. If foreign doctors want to treat our people, they can come and use our local services, lease our hospitals and use our people. That way, we get foreign currency, we create employment for our youth and we increase our visibility in the region in terms of medical services. It is good because it is going to create a perception that, as a country, we are prepared and ready to manage whatever situation there is. Because I can see the interest that my colleagues have in this Bill, we need to support it. I would wish to stop there so that I am not selfish to my colleagues who have been here, just like me, from 2.30 p.m., waiting for an opportunity to speak to this Bill and support it. As I conclude, I want to mention that, at the opportune time, we also need to have in place internal mechanisms of referral. If we are not going to refer patients out of the country for treatments, it should also follow that every county must develop their own capacity so that if a county has to refer a patient to another county, it has to be an absolutely necessary case, of course, within the purview of the public health facilities. But if it is a private hospital, if you have the money, you can go to any within the country. But for public hospitals, we want to encourage the counties to develop their capacities so that all patients can be attended to at the county level. In special cases, a patient can be referred to another county for further treatment. That way, we will encourage positive competition among ourselves. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I support. I want to thank Hon. Mishra for this forward- looking Bill which is going to address some of the challenges that we are facing as a country, including loss of a lot of money in the name of foreign exchange just because our patients are treated out of the country for conditions which would be best managed in the local set up, if only we encouraged our people to invest more on local capacity. Thank you."
}