Strike has entered third day-Kenya Nurses

The national nurses strike has entered its third day, with some of the health workers planning street protests to push the government to act as deaths and suffering is reported in public hospitals across the country.An elderly patient died at Baringo County Referral Hospital after she was left unattended to.

The woman, who was asthmatic, had been left unattended since Monday and breathed her last on Tuesday after she developed breathing difficulties.Ms Evalyne Kolem, who was on the bed next to the deceased in Ward One, said that the elderly woman had complained on Monday evening that she had developed some breathing difficulties but there was no one to attend to her.

I was sleeping next to the elderly woman who was asthmatic. She had not been attended to since Monday,” said Ms Kolem.

A spot check by the Nation on Wednesday morning revealed that operations had been paralysed at the referral hospital as patients who had been admitted at the facility were discharged and advised to seek services in private hospitals.

Beds in most of the wards remained empty at the hospital as patients who were admitted were discharged early in the morning. They were, however, required to clear their medical bills before being let go out.

The maternity wing had two patients who were left in the care of nurses on internship.Some of the patients who could not afford to pay pending medical bills and others who could not afford to go to private hospitals were pondering on their next move.

This happened as over 94 nurses took to the streets of Kabarnet town vowing to down their tools until their demands were met.

The nurses led by Kenya National Union of Nurses Branch Secretary Francis Koros, said that they are willing to return to work but only after the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) was signed and the strike called off by the national union leaders.

“We have withdrawn our services and left the other cadres of medics to attend to the patients as we protest to demand our rights because that is the only language the government understands,” said Mr Koros.

The nurses’ union has directed all its 45,000 members to down tools as from last Monday until the CBA is signed and implemented.The CBA was to harmonise nurses’ salary, providing better healthcare equipment in hospitals, hiring more nurses among others.

Meru County Assembly has passed a second supplementary budget approving payment of Sh374.6 million in health workers’ allowances arrears.

This is after the national government allocated the money for nursing service, doctors and health workers’ allowances.

The county’s 970 nurses will get Sh100.6 million in nursing service allowance, Sh60.7 million for 134 doctors, Sh16.8 million as call allowance and Sh240 million for health workers allowance.The allowances have increased the health department salaries from Sh1.6 billion to Sh2 billion annually.

At the Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital, only two out of the 182 nurses were working on Wednesday, Medical Superintendent Julius Ogato said.

The situation is so bad because most of our patients are admitted and they require services that are offered by nurses. Also due to overload on the ten nurses, some of the patients have not been attended to,” he said.

He added that the nurses abandoned their work station on Monday at 8am.But for services for HIV, TB treatment and Methadone clinics to wean off injecting drug users, are available.

At Kenyatta National Hospital, services were going on undisturbed as the nurses have a different CBA, according to Simon Ithae, KNH head of Communications.