Medics resign in droves amid claims of poor management

Groups representing doctors in the country Saturday challenged the government to reverse the management of medical personnel by counties pending the putting in place of proper management structures.

Reports say between 100 and 200 doctors have resigned, with the Western region losing 20 and Coast 25.

However, according to data seen by the Sunday Nation, 49 doctors have handed in their resignations since October last year with the worst area affected being Embu County.

Embu has recorded 16 resignations which include all six doctors in the Ishiara sub-county hospital; all three in Siakago also handed in their end-of service letters.

The data compiled on Thursday also shows that five doctors have resigned in Kakamega and four in Murang’a.

Nairobi has recorded eight resignations while Kitui had one. Turkana, Trans Nzoia, Nyamira, Nakuru and Busia recorded two resignations each, while Kisumu and Migori counties reported one resignation each.

Though the numbers presented above are resignation letters received either in the counties or by the national government, lobby groups estimate the number to be between 100 and 200 in a country with 3,350 doctors.

Interviews with union officials indicate that the  doctors had either gone into full-time private practice, medical schools or found jobs in parastatals and non-governmental organisations, citing harassment by the county government.

In separate calls the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union and Kenya Medical Associations officials yesterday termed the resignations by doctors as “a painful and irreversible” trend for Kenyans and the entire health sector if nothing is done about it.

KMPDU official Sultan Matendechero warned that the mass resignations would gravely affect the country if sober discussion did not lead to sober decisions by all stakeholders.

“The situation will be worse in the coming weeks if nothing is done yet this is not a political battle.

The government has buried its head in the sand and continually blamed the doctors yet it is a matter of discussions between the county and national governments,” Dr Matendechero said.

KMA official Simon Kigondu termed the devolution of health services as unconstitutional, hoping that the pending court case would solve the current stalemate over what functions and arms in the health ministry should have been devolved.

Dr Kigondu also called for the accountability of money deducted from their pay slips in the form of loan repayments and other deductions which have not yet been remitted to the relevant institutions in the last two months.

“It remains unclear who is our employer and who to put to task on our missing allowances and deductions from our salaries,” Dr Kigondu said.

Health Bill

He expressed disappointment that the country was operating with no Health Bill which is expected to guide in the implementation of health policies and practice in Kenya.

But a health policy expert has called for a step-by-step devolution of health workers in order to ensure a smooth process.

“The first group of health workers to be devolved within two years would be non-skilled staff who include drivers and office assistants, while the second step would involve the devolution of technical staff which include doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other cadres of health workers.

On Thursday Health cabinet secretary James Macharia attributed the cause of the resignations to poor management by county governments, adding he could not interfere due to constitutional constraints.

“The levels of efficiency in the counties vary from one county to another,” he said, adding that some counties have been able to successfully take up the devolved health functions whereas others are facing a myriad of management problems.

“Whereas I have the overall responsibility of running the health sector, constitutional limitations discourage me from getting into the administrative matters of health facilities that now lies with the county government,” Mr Macharia said.

He called for a national discussion on the management of county health workers to avoid plunging the country into an irreversible situation.

“The doctors are resigning because they have been frustrated, and issues that appear routine and obvious have not been given the seriousness they deserve,” Mr Macharia told the Nation in an interview Saturday.

He said solving the health workers salaries fiasco was key to better management of health services.

“The health workers are professionals who should be motivated to work.

“My main worry is that the implementation of preventive programmes like immunisation and tuberculosis and others will decline if the problem is not solved quickly, and this will cost the country dearly,” he warned.