Patients stranded as strike by Migori health workers enters day two

Patients seeking treatment from various public hospitals in Migori County were Tuesday turned away as strike by their medics entered its second day.

Relatives of critically ill patients admitted to the region’s 209 hospitals removed them and transferred them to other private hospitals for treatment.

Most of the hospitals were deserted as the 550 nurses kept off.

Only hospital administrators and other casual workers reported to work.

At the Migori County Referral Hospital, trainees from the local campus of the Kenya Medical Training College were warned to keep off the wards after the striking nurses spotted them attending to some patients.

The nurses said they wanted “a complete shutdown of the Migori healthcare system’ so that their grievances are “addressed immediately by the authorities.”

REMIT NHIF, NSSF DEDUCTIONS

In addition to their quest for promotions, the nurses also want the county government to remit arrears to statutory bodies such as the NHIF and NSSF be paid immediately by the.

“Our loan instalments are also not being paid monthly to the banks by the employer and our houses are almost getting auctioned,” said Ms Catherine Tingo, the branch secretary of the Kenya National Union of Nurses (Knun).

“We will only call off the strike once our demands are me. 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 Tingo.

She asked Migori residents to take their patients to private hospitals until the strike is called off.

“Don’t bother coming to public hospitals because we will not be there to admit or to treat patients,” asserted Ms Tingo.

The striking nurses later demonstrated in the streets of Migori Town, while carrying banners with a list of their grievances written on them.