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{
    "id": 1563239,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1563239/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 379,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Nyamu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I would like to comment on the Statement by Sen. Osotsi regarding the presence of expired medication in our public hospitals. The issue of having expired medicines in our public hospitals is a significant one because it has continued to be persist. The Auditor-General keeps raising it and flagging the presence of expired medication in our public hospitals. That means financial wastage because medication cost a lot of money, which is released by the exchequer. That also puts the safety of patients to question because you cannot guarantee that a patient in such a facility will not encounter expired drugs. Since such drugs also have to be disposed of, it poses environmental issues such as pollution. The presence of expired medication in our hospitals also points at the low quality and reduced quality of healthcare in a particular facility. Why does that happen and why do we keep on having the issue of expired medication in our public hospitals? One reason is a poor inventory system. We may have oversupply of a certain drug while other drugs are in shortage. That is an oxymoron! On the ground, Kenyans complain every day that despite visiting health facilities, there are no drugs. They have to get prescriptions to go and buy drugs outside the hospitals. That brings me to a key point. Pharmacists in public hospitals prefer prescribing drugs to patients, so that they go and buy them from outside because they run those pharmacies. I want to laud the County Government of Mombasa. Recently they declared that they will no longer renew licenses of pharmacists who operate pharmacies near public hospitals. I urge other county governments to follow suit by enforcing such a directive. We do not have proper storage facilities in some hospitals. I have heard that Members of the Committee on Health are going to go around the whole country with the aim of tackling the issue of expired drugs in our public hospitals. I urge them that those hospitals should not only be reprimanded, but they should also be facilitated with proper storage space and facilities. I suggest that we digitize this space. We should have an inventory that can forecast expiry of drugs."
}