Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1156758,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1156758/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 331,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sirisia JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. John Waluke",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2792,
        "legal_name": "John Waluke Koyi",
        "slug": "john-waluke-koyi"
    },
    "content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me a chance. I rise to support this Bill. It is timely. If we as a House pass it, it is going to help this country. There are people in this country who are poor and they suffer, but they do not get proper medical care. It is due to lack of resources or finances. This Bill is considering so many issues that it can solve for us as a nation. Cancer is the main killer these days. I do not know whether it is because of the food that we are eating. Very many people are suffering from cancer. It is one of the most expensive diseases. It is really killing people. Health workers in this country are human beings like others, but some are inconsiderate because they are after money, especially in private hospitals. One month ago we raised money to pay for the hospital bill of one of our colleagues who died, the former MP for Mt. Elgon. His hospital bill was Ksh500 million and the hospital had refused to release his body before clearing the bill. If the bill was not cleared, the body of the late Hon. Serut could not be released for burial. Imagine if he was not a former MP. Many of us participated in raising money to pay for the hospital bill for the body of the late Hon. Serut to be taken home for burial. This Bill is going to solve problems like this one. To refuse to release a dead body until a hospital bills are paid is not fair. Members of this House should pass this Bill. However, it is going to be a problem for hospitals to claim their money after they have treated patients and they die. Some of the hospitals are too expensive. The Government should take care of the medical bills, especially through the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF). There are people who cannot afford five shillings and others who cannot afford a meal. Because they are human beings, when they become sick and in need of treatment, they should be treated like human beings. If they do not have the NHIF card, the Government should intervene because eventually if such people die, hospitals will refuse to release their bodies. I urge the House to pass this Bill so that it can help us. The people who suffer in this country with patients and dead bodies are us MPs because they are our voters. If somebody dies, the family will call an MP every day to seek for help. What we do is to assist them to pay for the release of the deceased bodies. This Bill has come at the right time. As a House, we need to consider and pass it so that we give the huge burden of handling hospital bills of patients and dead persons to the Government. I support the Bill. Thank you."
}