Hospitals struggle to cope as nurses strike disrupts services

Empty benches at Kisumu County Referral Hospital during the third day of Nurses strike. [ Rodgers Otiso-Standard]

Healthcare services across the country were disrupted on Friday as the nationwide nurses' strike forced some public hospitals to shut down while others struggled to operate with few staff, leaving thousands of patients stranded.

The industrial action entered its third day, affecting public health facilities in counties including Siaya, Kisumu, Homa Bay and Migori as nurses under the Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives (KNUNM) pushed for implementation of the 2017 Return-to-Work Formula, signing of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), implementation of nursing career guidelines and resolution of issues affecting Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff.