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{
    "id": 596157,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/596157/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 186,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Dr.) Shabaan",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 139,
        "legal_name": "Naomi Namsi Shaban",
        "slug": "naomi-shaban"
    },
    "content": "and Kenyans will be able to access emergency treatment immediately they arrive at an institution or a health provider. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Clause 8 makes it mandatory for every healthcare provider to inform a user and where the user of the information is a minor, or is incapacitated, inform the guardian of among other things, the user’s health status except in circumstances where there is substantial evidence that disclosure of the user’s health status would be contrary to the best interests of the user. There have been issues where you find that even when incapacitation, or disease, is affecting a spouse, it is difficult for people to give that information simply because there was no legal framework to address that. Once this Bill becomes law, it will put that one to rest. Clauses 16 and 17 create directorates within the Ministry of Health headed by a Director- General. The Director-General shall be the technical advisor to the Cabinet Secretary (CS) on all matters relating to health and responsible for preventing and guarding against the introduction of infectious diseases into Kenya, and shall advise the two levels of Government on matters of national security in public health. Considering that health was fully devolved, there has been a grey area in how these issues were to be dealt with. So, this Bill seeks to create a Director-General who is going to be very strong and will be able to advise all the levels, so that we can realise the goal in Article 43 of our Constitution. Clause 27 establishes the Kenya Health Professionals Oversight Authority (KHPOA) charged with the responsibility of providing an oversight role to the regulatory functions of the national health system, and ensuring adequate co-ordination of joint activities of regulatory bodies within the health sector. Amongst its key functions will be to promote and regulate inter- professional liaison between statutory regulatory bodies, co-ordinate joint inspections with all regulatory bodies, ensure the necessary standards for health professionals are not compromised by the regulatory bodies and arbitrate disputes between statutory regulatory bodies, including conflict or dispute resolution among boards and councils in the health sector. To just name a few, we have the Kenya Medical and Dentists Board, National Council for Nurses and one for clinical officers. We have different professions regulated through different bodies. This Clause 27 seeks to put them under one umbrella, where this will act as an oversight authority to all those bodies which govern all the professions in the health sector. Clause 32 creates room for the establishment of a single regulatory body for regulation of health products and technologies by a separate Act of Parliament. Clause 48 outlaws human organs transplantation except in the manner provided in the law. This is a very well-considered Bill, and so many things have been put under it, so that we can regulate all the functions of the health sector. It will also allow us to deal with standardisation of medical treatment for Kenyans at this time under devolution; devolution of health was done in a bang. It was not done in phases. Because of that, there is a bit of work which requires to be done, more so within a legal framework, so that it is easy for devolution in the health sector to be well taken care of where our Kenyans are concerned. There are few clauses which I would want to point out. In this Bill, there are clauses which relate to health financing. There are also clauses which provide that the CS shall pursue strategies conducive for the development of private health services and alignment to the needs of the population. You realise that in Kenya, what happens in the public sector and the private 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."
}