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{
"id": 16469,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/16469/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Prof. Anyang’-Nyong’o",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Medical Services",
"speaker": {
"id": 193,
"legal_name": "Peter Anyang' Nyong'o",
"slug": "peter-nyongo"
},
"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, having said that, I would like to combine hon. Khalwale’s question with that of hon. Kabogo. Hon. Kabogo said that, at the Thika Level Five District Hospital, you will find three or four kids in one bed. That is not only at Thika Level Five Hospitals but in many other hospitals in this country. The reason is that over the last 25 years, we have not invested effectively in the medical delivery system in this country. Most of those hospitals were built in 1936. For example, the Old Nyanza General Hospital and Nyeri Provincial Government Hospital were formerly military barracks and not much has really been done to improve the infrastructure therein. In terms of modern healthcare delivery, those structures are not really suitable for modern technology and the way healthcare is delivered today. Given that, and recognizing that the infrastructure, equipment and so on, is inadequate, over the last three years, we have done a complete baseline survey of the Ministry in terms of infrastructure, equipment and human resources. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have said this year in this House that, that Report is being discussed and once is ready, I will bring it here to Parliament as a strategic plan. We have determined that the Government of Kenya needs not less than Kshs85 billion over the next three to five years to rehabilitate and revamp our hospitals and deliver healthcare as, indeed, is required by the Constitution, Vision 2030 and modern healthcare. If we do that, then we shall be able to do away with that problem. It is a shame to find people suffering from various diseases being lumped in one bed. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. The much more important thing is that we do not have adequate diagnostic services in many of our hospitals. Dr. Khalwale knows that without proper diagnosis, there is no medical science. No healthcare can be delivered. So, my emphasis has been that, while we are trying to modernize our health systems, let us improve diagnostic services in all our hospitals. In that regard, with the little money that we have, especially from the development partners, we do try to identify certain hospitals every year to begin rehabilitation. That job of rehabilitating hospitals goes on all the time. At the moment, we have finished about 23 and are starting another 25 very soon using development partners. Those are major rehabilitation projects going on and are done in almost every province in the hospitals that we choose. Thika District Hospital is one of the hospitals where we have really tried our best to rehabilitate and build new structures. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, second to that is management systems in hospitals. Indeed, you can have equipment and diagnostic services, but if you do not have proper management and attitude in the hospitals, then you are doing very little. That is another thing we are working on. But let me answer hon. Kabogo’s second question. What we are doing at the moment is not to depend on buying oxygen cylinders from BOC. We are trying to make sure that in all our Level Five hospitals, we manufacture or make oxygen on site. I think Thika is one of those that are going to be the beneficiaries of that. I assure you that in this case, the investigation done by the Medical Practitioners Board revealed that there was no lack of oxygen at Thika District Level Five Hospital on that day. Once we have oxygen manufactured in every hospital and piped to all the wards, then we shall prevent or avoid the crisis that we sometime have---"
}