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{
    "id": 639986,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/639986/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 127,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Njuki",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1372,
        "legal_name": "Onesmus Muthomi Njuki",
        "slug": "onesmus-muthomi-njuki"
    },
    "content": "possible if we do not have the necessary equipment, technology and knowledgeable personnel to carry out the tests. This brings me to the pertinent issue of the human resource that is entrusted with this very noble job of ensuring that the disease is detected in patients early. That is why this Motion is very important. Training of relevant personnel or what Hon. Gladys is calling “oncologists” will resolve this problem. However, as much as we want to give scholarships to medical personnel to be trained and bond them, so that they can come back and serve Kenyans, we have a serious problem of brain drain in this country. This is normally brought about by mistreatment of health workers in this country. Since the health function was devolved to the county governments, we have had endless strikes. It is because medical personnel have not been paid their dues or promoted, among other issues. I support the idea of training Masters students in the field of oncology but it will be prudent for us to try and see if we can bring trainers to train our medical staff locally. Once people get trained abroad and find a better working environment with better pay, they remain there even if they are bonded by the Government of Kenya. Some go to work in other countries like South Africa where they earn better salaries. Even as we pass this Motion, it is important that we look for ways and means of treating our medical personnel better than we do currently. I am very saddened to hear from one of the Members of the Committee on Health that the county governments have leased equipment from the national Government but cancer screening equipment is not part of the equipment. That is a very sad story because cancer is one of the leading killer diseases in this country. I hail the national Government for taking that route. One of the biggest problems at most of our medical facilities is malfunctioning equipment. I have been to Chuka District Hospital, which is now a county hospital. It is like a junkyard where a lot of equipment has been dumped. Sometimes equipment is dumped for minor malfunctioning. Unfortunately, we do not have technicians to fix such minor problems. The route of leasing makes it a bit economical in the long run. The person who has leased the equipment will ensure that it works all the time. By servicing the equipment regularly, the owners will ensure that it is always functional because they are paid for it to function. They are also supposed to organise for replacement of equipment when such equipment malfunctions beyond repair. They will always provide another equipment to relieve the one that is due for repair to ensure that service delivery continues. With that kind of arrangement, we may not lose lives. It is very economical for us. We get impoverished when we lose working personnel and people who are highly trained in certain professions. Lastly, there is the issue of diagnosis and misdiagnosis in this country. I know people who have been misdiagnosed with cancer. Some people have been told that they would die after six months, but they did not die---"
}