The council of governors, through its chairperson Anne Waiguru has issued a notice to its members that an extraordinary meeting scheduled to take place Wednesday March 27 will address the issue of the doctors strike as well as a court order issued by the Labour and Employment court on 15th March.
The decision to hold this critical meeting comes amidst the continuation of the 13-day-long nationwide strike, with doctors in Nakuru and Meru counties actively participating in demonstrations to pressure the government into addressing their demands.
Medical professionals, including doctors, medical interns, and students, staged protests in Nakuru, marching from the Nakuru Annex Hospital to various key locations such as the Governor’s office, the Nakuru County Assembly, and the Nakuru Teaching and Referral Hospital.
We are out for a reason and those reasons are not solved we will not go back to work….our peaceful demos to urge the government to fasten their belt to ensure the issues are sorted as fast as possible,” said Steven Omondi, Secretary, KMPDU, South Rift Region.
Patients seeking services in public hospitals continue to suffer as the doctors strike persists. At the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital, theatre services have been halted. Meanwhile, medical laboratory officers have threatened to join the doctors in the nationwide strike, giving the government a 7 day notice starting Tuesday.
A section of MP’s also called on President William Ruto to address the demands by doctors and bring the strike to an end.
“The CS for health has proven to be very incompetent, talking in rallies and funerals. We want that CS to step aside and we will bring an impeachment motion against the CS. We want the president to hold a meeting with KMPDU,” said Embakasi East MP Babu Owino.
The Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers is urging the government to promptly formalize the employment status of various healthcare workers, including those involved in Universal Health Coverage (UHC), COVID Health Emergency Response, UHC interns, and National TB and Lung diseases Global Fund Employees, as well as individuals employed through hospital boards under Permanent and Pensionable terms.
“The reconciliation committee comprising cabinet secretaries from the Ministries of Health, Labour and Treasury, the Head of Public Service, KMPDU officials ,Salaries and Remuneration Commission, County governments and national referral hospitals will hold another meeting on Wednesday a second attempt at ending the impasse,” Pius Nyakundi, Secretary General, KNUMLO, said.
