ODM Member of parliament Jared Okelo has proposed the amendment of a medical bill that will outlaw hospitals from detaining bodies of those who die while receiving treatment.
The MPs states that once the bill will pass detaining the bodies will e illegal.
The proposed amendments apply to both public and private hospitals. Let’s speak to the legilator to understand more about this bill.
The lawmakers, citing Article 43 of the Constitution, say every Kenyan has a right to the highest attainable standard of health and any detention of patients or bodies is a breach of the law.
Detention of patients and bodies is a common practice in both private and public hospitals. In many instances, it takes months or years.
A study published by Chatham House’s Centre on Global Health Security in the UK last year ranked Kenya among the most notorious countries in detaining patients unable to settle medical bills.
Other African countries were DR Congo, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
“Patient detention deters healthcare use, increases medical impoverishment, and is a denial of international human rights standards, including the right not to be imprisoned as a debtor and the right to access medical care,” the study findings revealed.