Homa Bay nurses strike as patients bear brunt of health services shutdown

Nurses demonstrate in Homa Bay Town. [James Omoro, Standard]

Striking nurses in Homa Bay County held a peaceful demonstration as patients continue to suffer.

Various public health facilities in the county are not offering services after nurses’downed tools.

At Homa Bay County Referral Hospital, which is the largest health facility in the county, the majority of wards, including maternity, remained shut.  

Only Ward Three and Ward Four were operating in the hospital as they are run by a non-governmental organisation assisted by a few workers employed by the hospital.

However, the remaining public health facilities, which rely on the services of health workers employed by the county government, are not operating.

The situation has put the lives of patients at risk because they cannot get treatment and medication in public health facilities.

Members of the Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives led by their secretary in the county, Emmardic Okeyo, held a peaceful demonstration in Homa Bay town on Tuesday afternoon.

The nurses chanted songs that criticised the Council of Governors (CoG) for declining to address their grievances.

Addressing journalists, Okeyo said they will not return to work unless their grievances are addressed.

The nurses want their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed before they resume duty. The CBA accords the nurses career progression guidelines and allowances among other benefits.

The nurses want their colleagues who were recruited under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) programme to employed on permanent and pensionable terms. The UHC nurses were employed on contract during the tenure of former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

They also want the 2017 return-to-work agreement their union signed with the CoG implemented.

“Unless you sign the CBA and we get a letter of no objection from the Salaries and Remuneration (SRC), we will not return to work. This applies to the failure to implement the return-to-work agreement and other grievances,” Okeyo said.

He also accused the Homa Bay County Government of failing to honour their April return-to-work agreement.

“Immediately this strike is over, we will serve the Homa Bay County Government with a notice for another strike over the return-to-work agreement it has disobeyed since April,” Okeyo added.

The Union Chairman in Homa Bay Enock Ocharo, told the CoG to stop threatening nurses.

Ocharo said the threats will not make them stop the strike.

“Let the CoG focus on addressing our grievances. The threats they are issuing will not have any impact,” Ocharo said.

Javan Adam, warned that failure to motivate nurses will  cause patients to continue to suffer.

“Let them know that a demotivated nurse is more dangerous than stage four cancer. They should address our grievances to enable health services to enable citizens to get medical care,” Adam said.