Lessons learnt from ongoing doctors' strike

The Kenyan public, together with its representatives in Parliament engaged in numerous exchanges, pitting people along political divides. The lack of public healthcare seems to have been a topic at the beginning of the strike, but has steadily waned to several hashtags and discussions on social media. PHOTO: COURTESY

A nationwide doctors’ strike in Kenya is well into its second month. The Government has employed all possible measures to get the doctors back to work, but the doctors have stood firm, demanding full implementation of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed in 2013.

Many lessons can be deduced from this unfortunate debacle. First, our priorities are wanting. At the same time doctors were on strike, a special sitting of the National Assembly to discuss the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill 2016 was quickly convened and held under controversial circumstances.

The Kenyan public, together with its representatives in Parliament engaged in numerous exchanges, pitting people along political divides. The lack of public healthcare seems to have been a topic at the beginning of the strike, but has steadily waned to several hashtags and discussions on social media.

An average Level 4 facility would in a day save about 10 people from death. In 30 days, that would be 300 lives saved. Multiply this by all Level 4 facilities across all 47 counties, and add Level 5 facilities that would save almost triple that number.

Kenyatta National Hospital, the biggest referral facility in East and Central Africa, has remained closed all that time. How many people have been dying silently, or incurring unprecedented costs just to stay alive? Sadly, Kenyans have not taken the Government to task on why their doctors are not back to hospitals.

Secondly, the Kenyan nightmare might be what many have christened privatisation of public problems. Where public schools are deplorable, many reach deep into their pockets to pay fees at private institutions, forgetting that the taxes they pay to Government go towards free education.

Where public transport is atrocious, many opt to own an automobile and condemn public transport from a distance. They drive on roads where it is the norm rather than the exception to evade gullies in the name of potholes.

Yet, taxes are duly paid to build and maintain roads. A similar scenario applies to healthcare. Public hospitals have been struggling to stay decent. Many who seek service in the public sector have no other option or have run out of money sustaining them in private facilities.

The strike has just served to expose this longstanding behaviour where we do not sustainably task our Government to improve public healthcare. Many throng private hospitals and considerably spend out of pocket.

Those with medical insurance consider themselves lucky until a situation arises where the only help is in the public facility. Every Kenyan pays taxes that should guarantee them the highest attainable quality of healthcare.

Thirdly, either Kenyans do not know their rights or they have been subjected to mediocrity for such a long time it has become the norm. Every Kenyan has a right to emergency services, but most still keep away on financial grounds.

Kenyans also have a right to hold the leadership accountable on several issues, including prudent financial management of their resources, recalling non-performing leaders among others.

You will however find people making excuses for such mediocrity as ‘how things work’, and ‘how they have always worked’. It is almost like a paralysis and resignation to an unpleasant fate.

Finally, the strike has been about a CBA signed by the government but neither registered nor implemented for the last 3 years. This speaks a lot about trusting a government to honour its end of a deal.

That may as well be the reason why the medics have been adamant as they are unsure about their fate should they go back to work based on another signed piece of paper in a Return-To-Work Formula.

Kenyans have become anaesthetised to public issues that a Government should otherwise resolve, and only awake when shallow political discourse is taking place. Maybe the doctors’ strike will be a wake up call.