Doctors affiliated with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) on Thursday initiated a nationwide strike, crippling healthcare services in public hospitals across the country.
This action stems from a long-standing dispute regarding the placement of intern doctors and the implementation of past agreements with the Ministry of Health. The Ministry acknowledges a shortage of funds as a significant hurdle. Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha informed a parliamentary committee that a budget shortfall prevents the Ministry from posting over 3,000 intern doctors, a key demand of the KMPDU. Meanwhile, the National Treasury has promised a budget allocation of Sh2 billion but the disbursement timeline remains unclear. This shortage is attributed to an increasing number of medical graduates, outpacing the available financial resources.
The KMPDU, led by Secretary General Dr Davji Atellah, disregards a court order issued on Wednesday that suspended the strike. They believe the Ministry has not committed to addressing the intern placement issue and past grievances. This defiance has disrupted medical services in several hospitals with reports indicating a decreased number of doctors and patients at facilities like Mbagathi and Mama Lucy Hospitals in Nairobi.
The impact of the strike is felt nationwide. Public health facilities on the coast have suspended in-patient, theatre, and clinic services indefinitely. KMPDU Coast branch Secretary Ghalib Salim confirms participation by all 630 doctors in the region. Similar disruptions are reported in Rift Valley, where specialized clinics at Nakuru Level 5 Hospital have halted cancer care, dialysis, and diabetic services.
The strike has also caused critical service disruption in Trans Nzoia where surgeries have been suspended. In Nandi County, however, medical professionals at the Kapsabet County Referral Hospital have opted to continue providing care. Dr Francis Soita, the KMPDU liaison officer in Trans Nzoia, attributes the strike to the county government’s failure to implement a 2017 collective bargaining agreement (CBA). A similar scenario unfolds in Busia, Kakamega, Bungoma, and Vihiga counties within the Western region. Here, public hospitals are facing operational limitations due to a lack of doctors. Patients requiring specialized treatment are being turned away, forcing some families to consider transferring them to private facilities. In Bungoma, only a handful of doctors reported for duty at the referral hospital.
While Central Kenya experiences a slowdown in healthcare operations, reports from Nyanza indicate that some striking doctors are attending to patients at their private clinics.
There is enough money in the…
There is enough money in the treasury to hire all those 3000 interns after completion of their training but that will not happen. Poor countries are like poor people who waste lots of money on things they do not need. It is very common for top-ranking “waheshimiwas” to travel by choppers even for very short distances and remember, the average cost of a chopper flight for an hour is over Sh.130,000. Then there are those retreats in 5-star hotels and nothing really is ever debated because all they do is echo Ruto’s desires.
“GIRL MAMA TOTO, tusi hawa waheshimiwa”
6.2m YES waKanyugis and…
6.2m YES waKanyugis and living drafters including lawyers Atiende,Njoki,Lumumba,Kamotho should explain who between hiring doctors on one side and having 1000 nominated prostitutes,counties/governors/dg/750 ministries/ministers,senate/senators on the other is more important than the other.How can any normal person vote to employ 1000 prostitutes with the lowest being paid shs 500000(which can pay three MDs) per month instead of hiring all the interns?Orengo who bought shirts worth shs 800000 each,Njeri-a bottle of urine for shs 455000,Kindero-looted shs 19b,Badi-ATE shs 15b,Kabogo-lent own Thika office for shs 1b,Obando & family ATE billions etc nonsense are the only known negative results in 11 years of TAKING CORRUPTION TO THE GRASSROOTS.