Burnout crisis pushes Kenya's doctors toward breaking point, union warns

Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union Secretary General Davji Atellah. [File,Standard]

Doctors are being urged to prioritise their health as rising burnout threatens the medical workforce amid mounting evidence of a mental health crisis in Kenya's healthcare sector.

Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Secretary General Davji Atellah told doctors at the Daktari Wellness Association (DWA) annual dinner that the demands of life-and-death medicine, long shifts and under-resourced hospitals are taking a heavy toll on their mental and physical well-being.

A 2020 cross-sectional study of 433 healthcare workers from Aga Khan University Hospital, Avenue Hospital and Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital found 53.6 per cent reported depression, 44.3 per cent anxiety and 45.8 per cent burnout.

"Even the most favourable pay increment or fully stocked hospital cannot entirely insulate us from the pressures of medicine," Atellah noted.

He described DWA as a community that helps doctors care for themselves through activities such as running, hiking and team sports.

"If KMPDU is the shield that protects your professional rights, DWA is the anchor that secures your personal resilience," he said.

The initiatives aim to  provide doctors with a safe space for connection and support outside the hospital.

Atellah said doctors who participate in these activities are building discipline and networks that strengthen both their personal health and professional performance.

"Self-care is not a luxury; it is a professional mandate," he observed.

He encouraged doctors to balance systemic advocacy with personal wellness.

"Let us commit to working together: KMPDU fighting the macro-battles for systemic change and DWA winning the micro-battles for personal and communal resilience," he explained.

The healthcare sector is recovering from a 56-day nationwide doctors' strike from March to May over pay disputes and implementation of their 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement.

 In September, the Ministry of Health launched Kenya's first Clinical Guidelines for Mental Disorders, noting that 42 per cent of individuals seeking primary care have severe depression and the national prevalence of common mental disorders stands at 10.3 per cent.