Doctors’ strike looms as promises are broken

Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union officials address the press in Red Court Hotel in Nairobi on May 27, 2017. PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP CORRESPONDENT

What you need to know:

  • The Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union says its members will “decide on the next course of action” if the national government and the counties fail to sign and deposit the two agreement in court by June 14.
  • Both parties on May 11 jointly agreed to extend the signing to May 28 but this is now unlikely to take place.
  • Dr Oluga termed wrong the move by the Ministry of Health to sign an agreement with Cuba that will facilitate the exchange of health specialists between the two countries.

A doctors’ strike is in the offing if the national and county governments do not conclude the issues that are stalling the implementation of the March collective bargaining agreement.

It is this CBA, alongside a recognition agreement, that ended the 100-day doctors’ strike on March 14.

The Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) says its members will “decide on the next course of action” if the national government and the counties fail to sign and deposit the two agreement in court by June 14 or within 16 days from May 28.

KMPDU chairman Samuel Oroko said this was the final extension since both parties had agreed that all necessary signatures which would address issues of allowances, trainings and working conditions of doctors and interns would be appended by May 14.

However, both parties on May 11 jointly agreed to extend the signing to May 28 but this is now unlikely to take place.

FINAL EXTENSION

The documents were to take effect from July 1.

“The 16 days are our final extension. We have met several teams, sometimes late into the night to discuss the issues but to date we feel progress has been painfully slow,” said Dr Ouma Oluga, the secretary-general of the doctors union.

Dr Oluga also termed wrong the move by the Ministry of Health to sign an agreement with Cuba that will facilitate the exchange of health specialists between the two countries as well as collaboration in the pharmaceutical sectors.

This follows a health cooperation deal that will see Kenya tap into the experiences of the renowned state-run healthcare system of the Caribbean island, known for low infant mortality rates and world highest life expectancy of 78 years.

MEDICAL DEVICES

The memorandum of understanding inked by Health CS Cleopa Mailu and his Cuban counterpart Roberto Morales on May 22 in Switzerland provides for Cuban pharmaceutical companies to work with Kenya in the manufacture of anti-retroviral medicines, anti-malarial vaccines and medical devices.

In particular, the union says it is in bad faith to plan to bring in foreign medics yet there are jobless doctors in the country who would have otherwise been employed instead.

Dr Oluga said: “We have nearly 1,400 doctors now, some who have been jobless for six months because the counties cannot absorb them largely due to nepotism in county public service boards which even employ quacks.”

MEDICAL INTERNS

Doctors, including medical interns who have completed the one year internship training, are normally posted to health facilities by the Ministry of Health.

He said it was worrisome that Afya House has been keen to seek foreign health workers at the expense of locally trained ones.

He made reference to the recent intention by Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu to get 500 doctors from Tanzania to step in to improve the number of doctors, address the burn-out due to long working hours.

However, this was barred by a court of law following a petition by doctors despite Tanzanian doctors making their applications to come work in the national, county and faith-based health facilities in the country.

The Tanzanian doctors have since been absorbed by their government.