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{
"id": 1567501,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1567501/?format=api",
"text_counter": 528,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Methu",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13581,
"legal_name": "Methu John Muhia",
"slug": "methu-john-muhia"
},
"content": "justice has not been established. We now have a case of the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital. What happens to people who have gone through such an experience or have a complaint against a doctor or a health facility? The complaint could be on any type of health facility. It could be a Level 5 or Level 3 health facility, a dispensary or a health centre. Madam Temporary Speaker, there are many cases of misdiagnosis. Many people have been misdiagnosed and suffered at the hands of doctors. There are many individuals who have been told they have a certain disease, only for it to be later established that they do not have it. The trauma of such experiences is why patients are advised to seek second, third, or even fourth opinions, only to find each diagnosis differing from the initial one. I wonder, Dr. Boni, as a doctor, do you follow a different syllabus? How is it that one doctor diagnoses a patient with one condition while another gives a completely different diagnosis? In one hospital, a patient is told they have H. Pylori; in the next, they are diagnosed with stomach cancer; and in another, they are simply advised to drink more water. This incompetence must be addressed. As I see the light beaming, I want to consolidate and conclude. Number five: we need to develop standardised protocols and mechanisms for investigating reported medical negligence cases. Do you see that after the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) found this doctor culpable, they were simply told to negotiate with the family on the action to be taken? Do you see --- By the way, I also wanted to ask, since these doctors were fined, with one fined Kshs250,000 and another Kshs300,000, who was receiving this money? Was it going to the parents, the hospital, the council itself or someone else? Why do we not have a prescribed list of measures to be taken once someone is found culpable? It should not be left to negotiation with the affected family. In the hospital’s submissions, they are even asking the family to appreciate the many hours worked. They say, “You must appreciate that we worked on your daughter for so long”. However, you worked on her like someone heading to Nyandarua but taking the road to Mombasa, driving at full speed and expecting appreciation for how fast you are going. If you are moving in the wrong direction, you will never reach your destination. Similarly, once a misdiagnosis has occurred, it does not matter how long a doctor works on the baby, the damage has already been done. In fact, the parents of this baby have argued that the prolonged treatment resulted from an initial mistake. Had the doctor correctly identified that the foreign object was merely a swallowed seed, they would not have worked on her for such a long time. We need to encourage hospitals to engage in mediation with patients' families. However, this mediation must be structured. It cannot simply be a matter of telling the family to negotiate with the hospital. There must be a clear, well-defined mediation mechanism in place. Even in court, there must be mediation. One must meet a mediator to settle matters out of court, not simply be forced to agree with the hospital."
}