Doctors in Kenya’s public hospitals are on a nationwide strike after accusing the government of failing to implement their promises signed in 2017.
The strike comes after an agreement which was signed in 2017 where doctors were on 100-day strike that year.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners,pharmacist and dentist union went on strike to demand comprehensive medical cover for doctors because the government has yet to post 1200 medical interns.
The strike is on despite a labour court order asking the union to put the strike on hold to allow the talks with the government.
Doctors union leaders say they would disregard the court order the same way the government had disregarded three court orders to increase basic pay for doctors and reinstate suspended doctors.
Many patients are left unattended and being turned away due to the strike which is entering the eighth day in the country.
Josephine Njeri, a patient at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), spent half a day in the hospital without being attended to.
“I have been here since 8 o’clock this morning. We have been told to wait for doctors because they are not in. We have just been in the queue since morning,” she said.
The Cabinet Secretary at the Ministry of Health Susan Nakhumicha visited KNH to assess the operations.
“As far as I’m concerned the referral hospitals are working pretty well and we are committed to ensuring that all facilities under the national hospitals are working,” she told reporters.
In 2017, doctors at Kenya’s public hospitals held a 100-day strike to demand better wages and for the government to restore the country’s dilapidated public health facilities.
The doctora union leaders also demanded continuous training of and hiring of doctors to address a severe shortage of health professionals.
