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{
    "id": 1235911,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1235911/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 247,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Matuga, ANC",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kassim Tandaza",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "We should support this Bill, so that it can be an Act of Parliament which will be followed to the letter and operationalised. Our doctors, just like many other professionals – and I have not singled out doctors - do not adhere to the highest standards of ethics. When a tycoon is taken to court for corruption charges, we have cases in this country where he colludes with doctors to refer him to a hospital abroad to evade the due process of law and he stays there indefinitely. After all, he has all the money that he obtained from the taxpayers through corrupt means. This is not money that he has worked for. He ends up enjoying the money in that country. As the Mover of this Bill has said, there are no clear guidelines on referrals. If he is referred to a hospital in Mauritius, there are no rules that require him to inform the ambassador of his visit. Instead of being admitted in a hospital, he only checks in on the first day and then moves into a resort to enjoy his money. This Bill is very critical even in fighting corruption in this country. It not only addresses the health sector, but also cuts across other areas. We know that corruption is a big issue in this country. Our doctors should not be exempted because we know that some of them are corrupt. Hon. Temporary Speaker, those few really do a lot of damage when it comes to referrals. When a patient is referred from Kwale to KNH, has that doctor considered the cost, time and the process of transferring the patient or he is simply discharging the patient to go out there and die? Remember, the moment that patient is referred, the nurses no longer attend to them since they have already transferred. That family does not have the means neither is there adequate equipment to transfer that patient. The referrals that are currently being done are usually when nothing can be done for the patient, who just has to wait for their time to die. It is high time the Government made sure that we have the necessary equipment and expertise. Would it not be cheaper to move a specialist from Kenyatta National Hospital to Coast General Hospital with some equipment to attend to the many patients? That should be done instead of sending all those patients to KNH when we know they will find no space for admission. They will be made to stick in long queues thus causing them to die while waiting for treatment along the corridors. I, therefore, congratulate my brother Didmus Barasa for bringing this timely amendment Bill to help the hustlers who cannot afford referrals and are misused, mistreated, and exploited by unscrupulous doctors out there."
}