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{
    "id": 618454,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/618454/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 246,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Mule",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2321,
        "legal_name": "Stephen Mutinda Mule",
        "slug": "stephen-mutinda-mule"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. First and foremost, I wish my colleagues and the nation a very unique year preceding the year of the next general elections. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I beg to move that the Bill be now read the Second Time. First, I want to give the analogy and the mind behind this Biomedical Engineers Bill, 2015, which I authored together with my colleagues, to look at a very unique profession in the country. To bring the House to speed, last year, the Government got into partnership and agreement on what they called the Managed Medical Equipment Scheme. This was meant to increase the technology of equipment in our hospitals. One challenge that the Government is facing, which is a reality, is to get proper professionals to manage, service, calibrate and train others on the use of that equipment. A biomedical engineer has a background on real issues within the medical field. I want to confess that I am one of the beneficiaries who were trained by the German Technical Assistants at the Mombasa Technology when there were less than 30 biomedical engineers in this country. For entry to this field, you need to have knowledge in Clinical Engineering, Clinical Engineering II and Human Anatomy. Then you transform the ideas that you gained from the school of engineering to the actual engineering. I want to kindly request the Clerks to provide copies of this Bill to the Members because quite a number of them might not have the Bill. The Bill is well structured to ensure that we manage the professionals so that they can have quality, secure and high professionalism in managing medical equipment in the country. Most of the Members here go to hospitals and are probably put on CT scan machines or sent to the laboratory. But they have no clue on the kind of tests which will be done on them. Biomedical engineers install, calibrate, maintain and offer after-sale service for the equipment. If you look keenly, all the other cadres within the Ministry are regulated by Acts of Parliament or some Gazette Notices. The country is acquiring equipment worth Kshs38 billion and we should have clear information on the maintenance of the equipment. It is high time that we have well regulated, qualified and discipline personnel in the medical fraternity. That is very key. Just recently, this country could not offer even degree courses for that cadre of people. Some of us had to leave this country after doing diplomas for advanced training abroad. I want to appreciate the move which has been taken by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the medical fraternity that, at least, Egerton University and Kenyatta University will start to train students on that. First and foremost, we wish to establish a board of biomedical engineers in the country because of the uniqueness of the work they do. We do not want to have quacks dealing with medical equipment. It is extremely serious for us not to have a board to manage and know the number of biomedical engineers in the country or to know how to manage that cadre of professionals within the health sector. The other day, we passed the Engineers and Technologists Bill, which looks into issues related to engineers. As Parliament, we need to be sure that the board that we are looking at here cannot be compromised when it comes to medical issues. Part II of the Bill has given a clear composition of the Bill. This composition is not cast in stone. We are going to look at the report, which I believe the Chairlady of the Departmental 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."
}