FORCED DEATHS: Medics announce total shutdown of private, public facilities

Doctors have threatened a total shut down of all clinical services in private, mission and public health facilities for 24 hours next Tuesday if no deal will have been reached by Monday, December 12 mid night.

In a statement to newsrooms, the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), said that the government has up to Jamhuri Day (Monday) to resolve the issues raised by the unions failure to which they will paralyse all the medical services.

“Given no solution by Monday 12th December 2016, KMPDU will call for a 24 hour complete stoppage of all clinical services in all private hospitals, private clinics, and mission hospitals on Tuesday 13^th December 2016,” read the statement in part.

The doctors, who are on their third day of strike, said that the industrial action was occasioned by three year industrial dispute concerning a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed on June 27, 2013 and effective July 1, 2013.

They accuse the government side of failing to show any good will in the negotiation process but instead threatening them with law suits.

“Talks have been called without proper communication and with intent of blackmailing the union. We have remained willing to engage the government in good faith to no avail.”

“The KMPDU team have been belittled and even disrespected by their counterparts from the government,” they added.

They now say that the only way to solve the current stalemate is by fully implementing the 2013 CBA that, among other things, will see them receive a 300% pay rise, more doctors recruited to reduce the current doctor to patient ration that stands at 1:16,000 and improve their working conditions.

They have, at the same time, called on Kenyans to join them in pushing the government to urgently resolve the issues they have raised.

“KMPDU remains very sympathetic to the suffering public and calls on all citizens to join for pushing the government to quickly end the stalemate.”

Talks between the doctors’ and nurses’ unions and the government have failed more than thrice with the medical staff walking out in protest.

The nurses’ union has further called for removal of Health Cabinet Secretary, Cleopa Mailu, and his Principal Secretary, Nicholas Muraguri, from the negotiating team besides pushing for their resignation.

They also want a special negotiations team formed under the Ministry of Labour saying it will only be fair for both sides accusing the Ministry of Health of using propaganda and issuing threats to the union leaders.

Since Monday, December 5, when the medical staff downed their tools, public hospitals and health facilities have been turned to death factories with misery, pain and agony written all over the faces of the patients and their caretakers and relatives.

The gory images of struggling or dying patients have raised doubts on the part of the government’s commitment to end the strike and on the doctors’ part to adhere to their professional values and save lives.

Who will hear the cry of the paining patients? Who will save the mothers in labour? And who will save the country from the endless industrial actions by government employees?