Cancer patients bear brunt of ongoing doctors' strike

Doctor Catherine Nyongesa of Texas Cancer Centre talks oon how the cancer patients number has increased by double due to the doctors strike that is ongoing in public health hospitals on 12 JANUARY 2016 PHOTO DAVID Gichuru

Mary Gathoni Maina saunters into the consultation room followed by her husband Richard Maina at the Texas Cancer Centre in Nairobi.

Ms Gathoni is battling cancer of the colon, which was diagnosed in April last year back in their home in Karatina, Nyeri County.

She was referred to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) where she was put on treatment and attended four chemotherapy sessions after every three weeks before doctors went on strike.

The last chemotherapy session she had was on November 28, before the doctors went on strike in the beginning of December.

"I was to go to Kenyatta Hospital on December 2 but when we called, we were informed that there were no doctors and we had to find an alternative," she says.

The pain gets worse each time she misses her medication.

And statistics at the Cancer Centre indicate that in the course of the doctors' strike, the number of patients seeking services at the facility have doubled from 250 to 500.

Gathoni's husband on the other hand says his family has spent thousands of shillings shuffling back and forth. The latest in their tribulations was in a hospital in Karatina where she was asked to buy medicine worth Sh20, 000 only for them to be told that the hospital could not administer the medicine forcing them to come rush to Nairobi – again.

"We had to leave very early before daybreak to get here early and join the queue for treatment," says Maina.

At the cancer treatment hospital was another 65-year-old whose family brought in for treatment.
Pauline Wangui's mother was attending chemotherapy sessions for ovarian cancer, which was diagnosed late last year.

The lady from Kangari in Murang'a went to KNH on December 5 last year only to be referred on January 5, 2017.

The session was not to be as the doctors were already on strike and while she should be on her fourth chemotherapy session, she is on the second.

"We have been here since Monday and I have missed work ever since the week started," says her daughter.

She says that much of the month of December was wasted due to the mother's sickness and she had to endure the winding queues at the cancer clinic.

The head of Texas Cancer Centre, Catherine Nyongesa, concurs that the numbers have increased and that can be attributed to the medics' strike.

"The numbers have increased since we are among the only hospitals that are offering these services," said Dr Nyongesa.

The hospitals which caters mainly for low and middle income patients has stretched facilities currently with patients from all over the country.

Nyongesa says that most patients are covered by National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) but adds that in cases of emergency the centre has an obligation to offer services.

"It is impossible to continue this way unless if the strike will not be resolved because people need these services," said Nyongesa.

The patients are urging the government and medics to quickly solve the impasse. Wangui urges anyone who wants to be a doctor to ensure that it is a calling.

Gathoni called upon the striking doctors to consider the suffering patients are going through and go back to work for the sake of humanity.