Kisumu health workers given up to Saturday to resume work or be fired

 

Kisumu governor Anyang Nyong'o has said striking doctors in the county will be fired if they don't resume work by Saturday.

The governor gave the health worker up to Saturday to resume their duties or face action.

"We call upon the health workers to come back to work by latest Saturday, anybody who doesn't come back to work will have been deemed to have voluntary abandoned their position," he said.

Nyong’o said the health workers had no justification whatsoever to abandon helpless patients.

He said there were no outstanding issue between the county and them.

The health workers want both levels of government to provide and commit to providing adequate and quality protective gear for all healthcare workers attending to Covid-19 patients.

This applies to both public and private hospitals.

Some medics have not been paid for four to 15 months. They demand their back salary.

They want all PPE lying in Kemsa stores to be released at once and distributed to health facilities.

Health CS Mutahi Kagwe had ordered the consignments, which are under procurement investigations, be released and sold to counties at the current market price. That hasn't happened.

Medics also want group life insurance to protect them and their families in case they die or are incapacitated in the line of duty by Covid-19 or anything else.

They also want comprehensive medical insurance cover to ensure healthcare workers who fall ill or are injured can access medical care without having to go through mental torture, distress and even loss of life due to accrued medical bills.

Despite Kagwe announcing medical cover for the medics, the doctors declined it, saying it unfairly excludes doctors working in county governments. It also would exclude those working in parastatals such as KNH, Kenyatta University Teaching and Referral Hospital, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and doctors working in universities.