Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (Kuco) claims that six of their members have contracted coronavirus in the line of duty.
Speaking during a media briefing in Nairobi, Kuco secretary-general George Gibore accused the government of failing to make the treatment of the six clinical officers a priority despite playing a vital role in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We have received confirmation on the cases of a clinical officer working for the Ministry of Health in Nairobi, a clinical officer in Ngara Clinic in Nairobi, a clinician stationed at the Kenya Ports Authority in Mombasa, two in Mombasa County’s public health facilities and one in Baringo County,” Gibore said on Friday.
Gibore further noted that a survey conducted by Kuco showed that nearly seven out of every 10 (68 percent) health workers in public hospitals have not received any training on how to handle the Covid-19 outbreak.
The survey on the working conditions and preparedness in public and private health facilities was carried out between April 3rd and 6th.
“As a union, we conducted a survey to assess the working environment and preparedness to fight Covid-19 in the healthcare system. The survey involved 46 counties and the respondents were drawn from all cadres of healthcare service including doctors, nurses, laboratory technologists, among other frontline health workers,” said Gibore.
He added: “A worrying finding was that 68.4 percent of workers have not been trained on how to put on and remove personal protective equipment (PPEs), while 58 percent do not know of the required PPEs available at their places of work,” he added.
Gibore stated that the shortage of protective equipment contributed to six of their members getting infected on duty.
“This trend of shortages is worrying considering that Covid-19 is mainly spread through droplets and aerosol-based infections. It poses a great risk of infection to health workers, no wonder we have at least six clinical officers confirmed with Covid-19,” he added.
