Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 448511,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/448511/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 312,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Chanzu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 11,
        "legal_name": "Yusuf Kifuma Chanzu",
        "slug": "yusuf-chanzu"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Speaker, as hon. Members, sometimes we find people coming to us; it happens most of the time when we are in the constituencies. They go to hospitals and they are given prescriptions; they are not able to buy medicines because hospitals do not have medicine. It is for that reason that I believe that issues that raised in this report cannot be wished away. There is also need for proper structures even as we talk about devolution of health services now or even if it was to wait. We need to have proper structures in place for this to work. For example, if you look at KEMSA, we could be having a lot of drugs in the country. But if this body is not decentralized, then getting drugs from Nairobi to all over the country will be a very tedious exercise. It takes a long time before drugs get to the required centres. This can be handled in the same way the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) was handled, so that we have drugs in the county stores. Hon. Speaker, there is also need for proper management. If you look at Vihiga District Hospital, which is supposed to be a key hospital within that region, all the doctors--- When these functions were devolved, most of the doctors resigned because they did not want to work under the county governments. Therefore, we are having an acute shortage of doctors and people are suffering. There has been no employment of doctors since that time. We are now using clinical officers who were employed under Economic Stimulus Programme. Therefore, there is need to address the problem of lack of healthcare seriously and in accordance with the recommendations of this report. Hon. Speaker, there are ethical issues which also need to be addressed. The issue of standards and what should be done in order that people get good treatment, or care, is very important. The issue of level one to level three hospitals and then level four to level six is important; if you go to some of the hospitals--- If we get these hospitals to be at level--- You can have a number of functions being carried out there; examples are training and teaching; these can be done there. Health service is so essential that the Government needs to render it to its people. Hon. Speaker, if you look at the campaigns by all the successive governments, healthcare was among them. Over 50 years since Independence, we have not been able to achieve what was expected by those who fought; at the time of Independence, Kenyans had adequate medical care. It is imperative that the recommendations of the report be taken seriously. If possible, the committees should be asked to look at the seventh recommendation and see whether they can tailor it in such a way that it can assist them to address issues that have been raised by two colleagues here. Hon. Speaker, if by any chance we get health services brought back to the national Government, so that the Government runs them the way it has done from 1963, then we will not be addressing the problems. I think the best thing is that--- If that were to happen at the end of the day, then we should model it the way we have run the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). Hon. Members are more at the grassroots than even the governors; they will address these issues much more effectively. This has always been the intention of this house, that we get services at the grassroots level; these are health, water and even agriculture. If they are modeled that way, then we will be more devolved than what devolution is today. It is important that this report is taken into account. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}