HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 238984,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/238984/?format=api",
"text_counter": 144,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ms. Karua",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs",
"speaker": {
"id": 166,
"legal_name": "Martha Wangari Karua",
"slug": "martha-karua"
},
"content": " Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I want to take this opportunity to support the Motion on the Floor to vote money for this very important Ministry. I want to start by congratulating the Ministry for turning around health services. We are happy with the increased level of drugs that are going to clinics and hospitals all around the country October 17, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2945 and with the improvement of the facilities. However, there are areas that we still need to emphasise. These areas involve changing or making policy regarding private practise by doctors working for Government hospitals. I would like to ask the technocrats in the Ministry to support this able Minister to ensure that we have a policy document that stops private practise by doctors working for the Government. It is better that we consider raising their emoluments but ensuring that they give services to the people on a full time basis. With this, we should also have a policy shift where we stop allowing private patients in Government hospitals. It is okay to have an amenity ward just like in private hospitals where you can have a ward bed or a private room. However, it is not okay to mix private patients with patients who are being attended to in a Government hospital. The result of this mix-up is a denial of the improved facilities that this Ministry has put forward to the poor people. In the district hospitals, the doctors are concentrating on the private patients who are paying them and ignoring the poor. That is why we must separate the issue of private patients. Let them go to private hospitals and let hospital patients for public facilities be attended to in public hospitals. This is the way it was when we grew up and it worked. The current mix-up is not working and the technocrats in this Ministry must burn their midnight oil to turn out an appropriate policy document which can then be adopted to enable the improved facilities to benefit our citizens. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we would also want to see the Ministry get bold and ask for facilities that will help our citizens not to travel long distances to look for such things as scans. Why can we not have all those facilities in each of our provincial hospitals to start with and then we can go down to the district hospitals. Everybody cannot be coming to Nairobi for a scan or rather specialised X-Rays. It is time there was a bold request by this Ministry to ensure that we have properly equipped provincial hospitals with a view to later on making it go down to the district hospitals. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, once we separate what I have said earlier, the private patients from patients who are coming for access to health facilities in Government hospitals, then we will not have patients leaving district and provincial hospitals looking for money from their hon. Members for treatment as private patients in Government facilities. We know that the cost of an operation in a Government hospital is Kshs8,000. Most people are unable to access simple operations. It is actually Kshs3,000; Kshs8,000 is charged by the KNH. Most people are unable to access operations at Kshs3,000 because our doctors are practising within the Government facility and asking for money to operate as though it is a private hospital. Then when they are doing their rota for the theatre, they give priority to the patients who are paying them. That leaves the poor people without access. We must be helped out of this situation through a policy framework. Let the doctors who chose to work privately run full fledged private clinics. Let those who chose to work for the public work for them on a full-time basis. Allowing a doctor to practise and have a private clinic is knowingly letting him to take away the time of his employer, who is the public. How can you be full-time employed and on salary and running a private clinic? You will be poaching hospital patients! Every time you are examining them, you are also referring them to your clinic in town. This is also a fertile ground for syphoning of drugs from our hospitals. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we know that most of our doctors are dedicated. However, this is a system that is allowing the way-ward to punish the unsuspecting public. I feel that if this is done, then we will truly begin to see the great changes that have been made by this Ministry on access to drugs and to other health related facilities because people then will be attended to without let or hindrance. I want, therefore, to give my full hearted support to the proposal before the House and to also encourage this Ministry to complete or discuss the memorandum of the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) Act which was referred, and has not been completed by this House; and 2946 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 17, 2006 most probably ensure that we have a phased out implementation so that people can start benefiting from enlarged access to medical services. When we go outside to see our constituents, the two greatest issues are education and health. However, we can easily solve the health problem by the two suggestions that I have made and by the many suggestions the hon. Members have given. I am sure that the Ministry is doing something about it. I have had occasion to speak with my colleague, the Minister. I know that she too is very keen on those two issues. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those many remarks, I beg to support."
}