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"speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. Having said this, I want to join the Committee and Parliament in general in extending my heartfelt condolences to the family of Annita. No patient should ever die in the hands of a doctor or medical practitioner. It is unfortunate that little Annita lost her life. I would be the last person to defend any medical practitioner who is incompetent. I have personally experienced this pain. When my wife was giving birth to her first set of twins, the first twin was delivered safely. However, the second twin was mishandled due to the incompetence of the medical team. To this day, we have never taken it. Therefore, I understand what this family is going through. I thank the Committee for recommending that the family be compensated, not because compensation can bring Annita back, but because it signals that someone cares. That someone wished for this child to live on. Having said that, allow me now to address the professional side of this hospital. Some of the recommendations made regarding this hospital are superfluous. Who told you that Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, one of the most respected hospitals in Africa, lacks the necessary protocols you are recommending here? This gives the impression that Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital is a place of quacks, inefficiencies and incompetence. That is simply not true. I want to defend Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital. Many of my former classmates, from Kakamega High School, the University of Nairobi, and the Medical School, are professors at this institution, including Prof. Stanley Ominde-Khainga. These individuals are highly competent, not only as professors at the university, but also as external examiners. I can see Sen. Mungatana, Sen. Mwaruma, Sen. Omogeni and the Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Cheruiyot in the House. They are all men of academic distinction. They understand what it means for a professor to be appointed as a visiting examiner. These scholars travel to supervise exams in esteemed institutions such as Glasgow, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the U.S., Lagos, Makerere, and Dar es Salaam, underscoring the high academic standards. Therefore, this superfluous recommendation should be expunged to uphold the status of Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I appeal to the family to endure their grief and bear with the medical profession, I wish to remind everyone that before doctors are released into practice, they take the Hippocratic Oath. This oath ensures that a doctor shall not knowingly cause the death of a patient. Therefore, when a patient dies, it is rarely due to malice or incompetence on the part of the doctor. As the saying goes in medical schools, “doctors treat, but the Lord Almighty cures the patient.” I can tell you that in my 30-plus years of medical practice, I have witnessed many things. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}