Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 725273,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/725273/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 160,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Onyura",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 12833,
        "legal_name": "Michael Aringo Onyura",
        "slug": "michael-aringo-onyura"
    },
    "content": "Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to second this Bill and do so quite happily because it is good. I thank Hon. Sang for moving it and doing a good job of it. As we all know, clinical officers play a very important role in our hospitals and in the medical or health services sector. They have done so for a long time and I am sure they will continue to do so. It is only right that we legislate and come up with laws and frameworks in which their work can be done even better and they can improve. One thing I know about this Bill and similar Bills is that they are out to ensure that professional standards and professionalism is upheld and promoted to the highest standards possible. Going through the Bill, I see that, that will be achieved. Again, I have noted from the historical sheet that I was going through that clinical officers have come a long way, starting from the early 1920s when the first ones were trained and were then known as medical assistants or clinical assistants. They went through the stage of being higher national diploma holders and we have now moved to the stage where clinical officers are trained in universities and given degrees, namely, a Bachelor of Science (BSc) Degree in Clinical Medicine, starting with Mt. Kenya University and it has now moved to other universities as well. I am sure that this Bill has come in at the appropriate time to ensure that the journey that our clinical officers started and are currently on is recognised and is fruitful and beneficial to this country. The Bill addresses many issues of regulation, training, registration and licensing. This is a good thing so that things are clear. Who is a clinical officer and how do they get onto the register? How do they maintain themselves on that register as they work? Perhaps, those are areas that were not very clear in the past. The new Bill will clarify and assist in operation. Again, it is better that it comes in at this time because we have all witnessed emerging trends and good practices globally and it is only fair that we repeal the older Bill and come up with a Bill that is more modern and that also embraces all the good emerging trends and practices universally. It is quite timely. Also, this is an area that can be very easily infiltrated by quacks. We should have a good Bill that takes care of the risk of quacks getting into the mainstream and offering services which could be very risky and dangerous to the public. Through registration, monitoring and disciplinary systems, they are picked up quickly and weeded out. Out there, particularly in the rural areas, the ordinary mwananchi can hardly distinguish between a trained clinical officer and a healthcare agent. Somebody who happens to put on a white coat and a stethoscope is assumed 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."
}