Patients worried as doctors’ strike begins

By ALLY JAMAH

and PETER ORENGO

Thousands of patients in public hospitals may be in for a rough time as doctors down their stethoscopes to push for a 300 per cent pay hike.

Fears are high that if the Government and the striking doctors fail to strike a deal, and the strike drags on for days, the lives of many Kenyans may be in grave danger.

"I hope God will save us from this nightmare. Who is going to attend to us when there are no doctors?" a worried Mary Atieno, a patient at Mama Lucy Kibaki District Hospital in Nairobi’s Kayole area, wondered aloud Sunday.

Women at the labour ward at Coast Provincial General Hospital. [PHOTO: MAARUFU MOHAMMED/STANDARD]

All hopes are now pinned on negotiations planned for this morning between top officials of the ministries of Public Health and Medical Services and the leaders of the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU).

Worringly, there were no last minute attempts Sunday by Government officials to hold meetings with doctors’ representatives like it happened during the lecturers’ strike recently.

Planned meeting

"Although we have a meeting planned with the Government, our strike will still continue until our proposals are accepted," said KMPPDU Secretary General, Boniface Chitayi.

Dr Chitayi revealed that they were willing to make concessions to stave off the strike but accused State officials of not taking the negotiations seriously.

"We have tabled proposals which show that we are willing to take a 150 per cent pay hike, down from the 300 per cent we had requested for earlier. The Government must meet us in the middle if they are serious," he added.

When contacted, Public Health PS Mark Bor declined to indicate whether the Government would place new proposals on the table after earlier negotiations collapsed last week.

Sunday afternoon, top officials of Kenyatta National Hospital were locked in an emergency meeting to draft contingency measures to minimise the sting of Monday’s strike.

Other public hospitals across the country are understood to be taking similar steps.

Receiving special attention is how emergency treatment and care will be administered to patients using a skeletal staff until the strike is over.

Loss of lives

KNH CEO Richard Leresian expressed hope that the doctors’ would call off their strike to avoid loss of lives at the nation’s largest referral facility, which has more than 400 doctors.

"We are confident that some of our doctors will not take part in the strike. We urge those who plan to join in the strike to exercise restraint for the sake of the patients and to wait until the matter is resolved amicably," he said.

Sources indicated that consultant doctors, who number about 150, may save the situation at KNH, which handles hundreds of emergency cases daily.

KNH officials are hoping that last minute negotiations will end the strike nightmare and save the public health sector from paralysis.

Analysts fear that the strike may also accelerate the alarming brain drain of doctors from Kenya to other parts of the world, especially Southern Africa, where the pay is significantly higher.