Roundup: Kenyan leader pledges to fix health workers issues amid strike

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Friday that his government will resolve issues doctors and nurses have raised but urged them not to make innocent patients suffer as strike entered its fifth day.

Kenyatta said he is confident that the doctor's dispute will be resolved by the end of the day and urged doctors to have compassion so that patients who depend on them do not suffer.

"I am very hopeful that by the end of the day we should have an agreement. We need to work together because we do not want Kenyans to suffer," he said when he addressed doctors at the Kericho County Hospital.

The president's promise came as the health crisis may worsen next week after doctors in private and mission hospitals said they will stop working and join the ongoing strike next week on Tuesday.

Kenyatta National Hospital, which has a large private wing, will be hardest hit after its 290 consultants said they will withdraw their services immediately.

The announcement was made after a meeting with officials of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPPDU), and the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) in Nairobi on Thursday.

"All 290 UASU members who consult at KNH have stopped working immediately until their demands are met," said Dr George Omondi, UASU secretary general at the University of Nairobi chapter.

However, the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board which regulates the health industry on Friday warned the striking doctors against interfering with operations in private and mission hospitals.

The Board chair, Professor George Magoha, warned the doctors against such action saying that the move will not only interfere with the management and operations of private entities but also interfere with the constitutional rights of the public to access healthcare services.

"The Board strongly warns that we shall not hesitate to take disciplinary action against any medical or dental practitioner who will be reported to have contravened the provisions Constitution of Kenya (2010)...which provides that a patient's right to access a health care provider of his/her choice shall not be unduly restricted by a third party," read the statement in part," Magoha warned.

He also demanded that the government spare no efforts in ensuring that anyone who attempts to interfere with the operations of private health institutions is dealt with decisively and in accordance with the law.

Magoha called on the government and the KMPPDU to fast-track the ongoing negotiations in order to alleviate the suffering of Kenyans and avert further loss of lives and urged health institutions to report to the Board or the police any person who threatens their employees or disrupts the operations of their institutions.

The KMPPDU and Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) have been ordered to appear in court on Dec 13 to show cause why they should not be committed to civil jail for disobeying a court order.

The two unions have defied a court order and went on strike on Monday to demand for a 300 percent and 25-45 percent salary increment respectively, leading to sufferings of patients in public hospitals.

The doctors and nurses said that the industrial action was occasioned by three year industrial dispute concerning a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed on June 27, 2013 and effective July 1, 2013.

Speaking in Kericho, President Kenyatta called on the doctors to have a spirit of understanding and to look after the lives of their patients as the dispute is resolved.

He said a solution will be reached that recognizes the important role that doctors and nurses play.

Kenyatta said doctors at the hospital have revealed that private hospital are now referring patients to the county hospital for specialized treatment. Endit