AGONY FOR PATIENTS AS STRIKE BY NURSES SHUTS DOWN HEALTH CENTRES

The striking nurses demonstrating in the streets of Migori town on August, 30, 2016. PHOTO | ELISHA OTIENO | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

By NATION TEAM

Patients seeking treatment from the 209 public health facilities in Migori County were on Tuesday turned away as nurses' strike entered its third day.
Critically ill patients admitted to the health facilities were ‘discharged’ by their relatives and transferred to private hospitals.
Most of the public health facilities were deserted as the 550 nurses kept off work, with only administrators and casual workers present at their duty stations.
At the Migori County Referral Hospital, trainees from the Kenya Medical Training College were warned to keep off the wards after the striking nurses spotted them attending some patients.

The nurses, who took to the streets of Migori town in demonstrations, said they wanted ‘a complete shutdown of the county’s healthcare system’ so that their grievances could be ‘addressed immediately by the authorities.’
In addition to their quest for promotions, the nurses also want remittances of arrears to the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) and National Social Security Fund (NSSF) paid immediately by the County Government.
“We will only call off the strike once our demands are met. We need our promotions to be effected immediately and re-designation of nurses who were upgraded from certificate to diploma. We also need payment of arrears for our members who were promoted to ensure harmony,” said Ms Catherine Tingo, the branch secretary of the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) on Tuesday.
MASSIVE RESIGNATIONS
The union’s vice –chairman Mr Mosse Mariga and deputy secretary Mr Ndoro Mikah said past meetings with the county administration bore no results leading to massive resignations by specialist doctors.
Early this month, the county government promoted 300 nurses and clinical officers but union officials said this has not been reflected on their payslips.
“Those promotions are just on paper and our members are yet to receive the money,” said Ms Tingo.
But Health Chief Officer Dalmas Oyugi differed with the striking nurses saying “the promotions are real and not hot air”.
“We have issued letters promoting some of them…they should appreciate that promotions are continuous processes and not a one-off event.
“Other professional cadres are going to be considered later and they should not get worried,” Dr Oyugi added.
In Kakamega County, nurses have issued a strike notice after talks between their union and the County Public Service Board ended in a stalemate.
KNUN’s Kakamega branch secretary Renson Bulunya said on Tuesday that nurses in health facilities in the county will down tools on Monday to protest alleged discrimination.
Mr Bulunya said the negotiations had collapsed following an acrimonious exchange between union officials and members of the County Public Service Board.
 “We are unhappy with the way the county government is treating and discriminating against nurses, including those hired on contract who are paid Sh20,000 per month,” said Mr Bulunya.
He added:  “Our negotiations have collapsed and the only option left to us is a strike to force the county government to listen to the grievances of the nurses and address their plight,” said Mr Bulunya.
But County Executive for Health Services Peninah Mukabane warned that the planned strike was unprotected and nurses who take part in it would face disciplinary action.
RECRUITED MORE NURSES
She said officials of the trade union were restrained from interfering with the services in health facilities in the county until a dispute pending before a court in Kisumu is determined.
Meanwhile, the Nandi County Government has recruited additional nurses and purchased more drugs and equipment to address the crisis in its health sector.
It has hired 450 more nurses in addition to the 110 it employed in June. The county recently received Sh800 million to replace old machines and expand the hospital that serves about one million people in the county and neighbouring regions.
“A great share of the 2016/2017 budget will go into hiring health staff in key areas and equip the 196 health centres to boost access to quality health services,” said Governor Cleophas Lagat.
The devolve unit has acquired new machines under the Medical Equipment Scheme. They include the Magnetic Resonance and Imaging (MRI), Digital X-Ray, Ultra Sound , Renal and ICU apparatus.
More than 850 nurses went on strike three months ago to demand implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) their union entered into with the county government on promotions of salary arrears amounting to Sh10 million.
Reported by ELISHA OTIENO, BENSON AMADALA, TOM MATOKE AND BARNABAS BII
CREDIT: NATION MEDIA GROUP