Posted by Jambo
Kenyatta National Hospital will no longer be operational until a strike impasse is resolved.
Approximately 300 doctors and consultants from both KNH and the University of Nairobi (UoN) Wednesday downed their tools until all their demands are met by the Government.
“No patient should be referred to Kenyatta because the doctors have now joined the strike. We had tried offering the basic services hoping that the issue would be addressed in due time but the Government still hasn’t signed the CBA,” said a professor from the UoN Department of Medicine.
The health workers came to the conclusion after a meeting Wednesday morning.
The country’s largest referral hospital had been operational despite the industrial action.
But the doctors and consultants called it quits after the Government took a hard-line stance on fulfilling their demands, which included signing the 2013 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Downing of tools
The doctors said the downing of tools would affect both the public and private wings as well as the inpatient and outpatient departments.
Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union Secretary General Ouma Oluga maintained the only way doctors would resume work was if the State signed the 2013 deal.
He also called for the withdrawal of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) that had been stationed at the facility’s casualty wing.
“I have been receiving calls from our KDF colleagues who say that they are fatigued and not qualified to handle such cases. Thus I recommend that they are deployed back to the army base,” suggested Oluga.
The secretary general further accused the state of running away from the doctors’ problem, saying they were not afraid of going to jail if it was the only way to access justice. Oluga said doctors could barely afford access to medical services.
Meanwhile, approximately 20 people have died as a result of the impasse between the two bodies, with others seeking treatment outside Kenya.
-standardmedia.co.ke
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