Open private clinics, health centers shut: MP
KUWAIT CITY, April 13: MP Khalil Al-Saleh called for opening private clinics and health centers which were shut down earlier, stressing the importance of cooperation among medical facilities in both the public and private sectors in facing the coronavirus crisis.
Al-Saleh pointed out that reopening the private clinics and health centers will ease the burden of public hospitals and enhance efforts being exerted in addressing the crisis. He argued the big number of outpatients going to hospitals could impede the work of medical staff tasked to deal with coronavirus cases. He warned that the large number of people visiting hospitals could contribute to the spread of corona.
He believes the above-mentioned step will be in the interest of citizens as doctors in private clinics have been keeping the medical records of individual cases for years; hence, this will ease procedures for outpatients to avail the medical service they need and avoid crowds in public medical facilities. He stressed the Ministry of Health is fully capable of implementing precautionary and preventive measures in private clinics.
Meanwhile, MP Riyad AlAdasani intends to submit a recommendation to the government on the best contracting procedures in times of crises according to the relevant laws.
He said Law Number 49/2016, on organizing tenders and contracts, stipulates two ways for the government to settle urgent contracts, float tenders and carry out direct contracting. He disclosed the first option is to allow public institutions to float tenders after obtaining approval from the Central Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT) and then choose the best offer or the lowest price. He added the government should not to resort to the second option -- direct contracting, unless only one contractor or supplier can provide the required services or items. He clarified the government should consider the second option only when necessary as it presents less opportunity for bargaining and choosing the lowest price among several offers.
It has been observed that the government resorted to direct contracting more than usual recently, maybe because of the exceptional circumstances the country is going through. Such contracts must be implemented only upon the approval of the State Audit Bureau (SAB) and CAPT in order to make sure that public money is well protected, he concluded.
Also, MPs Muhammad Husain Al-Dallal and Abdullah AlKandari submitted a proposal to the National Assembly Office for the parliamentary Public Utilities Committee to present a comprehensive report about the supply of foodstuff and livestock in facilities supervised by the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) and affirm their ability to meet the demands of local markets.
The lawmakers proposed that the committee should determine if PAAAFR is providing encouraging support for producers and if it is coordinating with the relevant unions and societies to strengthen cooperation between PAAAFR and the producers, especially during a crisis.
The proposal includes assigning the committee to meet with representatives of the Cooperative Societies Union, Union of Fresh Dairy Production (UFDP), Kuwait Farmers Federation and other concerned unions to consult them and hear their recommendations.
According to the proposal, the committee must determine if PAAAFR has clear strategies to meet the markets’ demands in the medium and long terms. The report should be referred to Assembly in a couple of weeks.