HIV, TB patients worst hit by medics' strike in Kisii

HIV and tuberculosis patients are suffering most from the ongoing medics’ strike, says Enock Ondari, the Chief Executive Office at  Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital.

According to Dr Ondari, these patients require close supervision and it is dangerous if they skip their doses.

“If a patient undergoing either HIV or tuberculosis treatment does not take the prescribed drugs for more than two days, they may become resistant to those drugs and therefore be forced to go for second and third generation drugs which are expensive and not easily accessible,” said Dr Ondari. 

The hospital attends to an average of 90 people HIV/AIDS patients daily. 

Dr Ondari said, health officials are seeking for qualified pharmaceutical technologists to help in distribution of the drugs to patients that require special attention.

“Currently we have two pharmaceutical technologists in the facility that are going to issue drugs so patients while the strike lasts,” he said.

Meanwhile at Migori County Referral Hospital patients were evacuated by their friends and relatives from the deserted facility as the medical workers strike entered day three.

The sick men, women and children flocked the nearby Ombo, Pastor Machage and Oruba private hospitals.

Relatives of the sick asked the national government to immediately find a truce to end the strike.

“Some of us are poor and cannot meet the high cost of private hospitals…stakeholders should agree to stop the suffering of the poor,” said Mr Samuel Onyango whose brother was admitted at the county facility.

More than 550 nurses in all the 209 facilities in Migori and about 50 doctors in Migori downed tools on Monday.

Nearly all the dispensaries and health centres in the eight sub-counties remained deserted. Patients could be seen lying under trees unattended.

Some new patients were turned away from the public facilities by the striking workers with proprietors of private hospitals expecting to benefit big from the strike.