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"id": 1023181,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kesses, JP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Swarup Mishra",
"speaker": {
"id": 13286,
"legal_name": "Swarup Ranjan Mishra",
"slug": "swarup-ranjan-mishra"
},
"content": "THAT, the Health (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.64 of 2019) be now read a Second Time. The principle object of this Bill is to amend the Health Act No.21 of 2017 to introduce a new section that seeks to provide for the development of policy guidelines to regulate the referral of patients to health institutions both within and outside the country. The new section will ensure that the relevant stakeholders are involved in the process of developing such policy guidelines so as to ensure that the process of referral to hospitals outside the country is not subjected to abuse. If the amendment is passed, the Health Act No.21 of 2017 will be amended by inserting a new section immediately after Section 79. For avoidance of doubt, and since the amendment is very short, allow me to quote it verbatim as follows: “79 (A) (1) The Cabinet Secretary (CS) shall develop policy guidelines on the mechanism of referral of patients to health institutions within the country and outside the country. (2) Despite the sub-section (1), the policy guidelines for referral mechanisms developed under subsection (1) shall provide for consultations with the body responsible for registration and licensing of Medical Practitioners and Dentist Board and the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).” Hon. Speaker, the policy guidelines referred shall ensure that adequate measures are taken to establish whether the health institution to which a patient is referred purchased adequate health equipment and healthcare personnel. A public health facility that refers a person to the health institution outside the country shall ensure that adequate consultations are undertaken with the Kenyan Mission in the country in which the referral is made to establish the credibility of the health institution. This is also in line with Section 104 of the Health Act No.21 of 2017, which provides as follows: “104. The Cabinet Secretary (CS) shall, within three years of operation of this Act, ensure the enactment of legislation that provides for among other things – (h) Health tourism;” The definition of medical referral same as tourism means the recommending and referring of patients with disease processes bearing the following indicators: Lack of diagnosis and/or lack of infrastructure and or lack of skills and/or lack of equipment and facility."
}