On September 21 social and mainstream media were awash with a video and news of a boda boda accident victim in Vihiga pleading for medical attention from inattentive health workers who only passed by.
No assistance came, leading to her death. One health officer was heard asking who she was. Many such cases have been reported and more will be heard in the future. It indicates how our health facilities have become grounds for the highest bidders with a don’t-care attitude.
Such inhuman acts, especially from health facilities and workers in Kenya, call for legislation to protect the lives of citizens. Successive governments have made new laws or amended existing ones to address emerging concerns.
The Vihiga case is of concern and calls for the attention of the government. The United States has the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which Kenya can emulate.
The EMTALA ensures that citizens can readily access emergency services irrespective of their ability to pay. Through the law, the rights of the patients include services such as medical screening, examination, whenever necessary and regardless of whether they can afford or not.
Additionally, the legislation stipulates that health facilities should offer stabilising treatment for patients who require emergency medical attention.
The defining term here is emergency. An emergency requires prompt attention, therefore, every health worker should strive towards restoring the life of human beings before asking for payment, name or anything that is likely to discriminate or delay treatment.
Every citizen belongs to the government, therefore, any medical costs for emergency treatment and care should be insured by the government. If it turns out that the patient cannot afford, then the government should pay for it.
A murder case is usually between the suspect and the government. The government is the “owner” of every citizen. Family members of a murdered victim can never intervene and reach an out-of-court settlement with the suspect in murder cases. It is because citizens belong to the government first; the family comes second.
But why should the government come in to give me justice only when I am dead? It should be on my side when I am alive, in an emergency, by catering for my costs. Only later can the government determine the capabilities for the patient to pay, seek refund or waiver, in full or partially. Restoring health of citizens in an emergency should be a priority and nonnegotiable.
Such a legislation would also blur the existing demarcation of health facilities along those for the poor and those for the rich in access to emergency treatment and care. Not looking first at the patients’ financial capabilities, but how to restore normal health, goes a long a way in promoting equality in healthcare delivery. Kenya needs the EMTATA legislation.
