Doctors' union threatens to join nurses' strike as it enters 43rd day

KMPDU Secretary-General and CEO Dr Devji Atellah during a press briefing on the nurses’ strike in Nairobi yesterday. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

Doctors have threatened to shut down hospitals and join an ongoing nurses' strike if the government fails to resolve the six-week labour dispute within seven days.

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) issued the ultimatum, warning that the continued walkout by nurses is severely disrupting health services across the country.

"There is no point in having doctors in hospitals when they cannot provide nursing care in the facilities," said Davji Atellah, the union's secretary general. "If the government does not end the nurses' strike in the next seven days, we shall issue a strike notice and join the nurses."

Nurses began striking 43 days ago, demanding the implementation of a 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The deal is estimated to cost Sh5.9 billion.

Last week, Council of Governors (CoG) Chairperson Ahmed Abdullahi downplayed the agreement, stating it was signed under duress and is financially unattainable.

In response, the Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives (KNUNM) vowed to remain off the job until the deal is finalised and approved by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).

"Our efforts to have the CBA implemented continue to be frustrated," KNUNM Secretary General Seth Panyako told The Standard. "The strike shall continue."

Atellah said doctors are being forced to take on nursing duties alongside their medical roles, despite facing their own staffing shortages. He described the situation as inhumane, noting that the doctors' union will not remain silent amid the crisis.

"Essential services have been disrupted. Patients in need of nursing care are not able to get it, despite it being a key healthcare service." He added, "It is becoming unsafe for doctors; being overburdened, doctors cannot do nursing jobs."

The KMPDU warned that hospitals are running at a bare minimum. Investigations by The Standard across multiple facilities reveal a paralysed healthcare system where services are largely restricted to emergencies.

During an overnight visit to Mbagathi Sub-County Hospital, Pumwani Maternity Hospital, and Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), The Standard found that only women requiring emergency deliveries were being admitted.

At Pumwani, pregnant women in labour were forced to wait on the roads outside the facility, only being wheeled in as emergencies when delivery was imminent or complications arose, a situation experts warn risks maternal and infant mortality.

At Mbagathi, the newborn unit caring for critically ill and premature infants is severely stretched. The unit is managing at least 65 sick and premature babies with only two locum nurses. The Standard spoke with a mother who alleged her newborn died due to delayed care.

A hospital employee, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the county is deploying nursing students instead of experienced, skilled nurses to care for the infants, raising concerns about the quality of care.

Major hospitals like KNH and the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH) are operating at full capacity, limiting new admissions.

At Nakuru Provincial General Hospital, mortality rates have soared. At least 11 people died at the facility on September 3, and the morgue is collecting between seven and 18 bodies daily. An insider attributed the high death toll to patients in the wards not receiving adequate care.

During a visit on Sunday night to Lamu County Referral Hospital, The Standard found limited admissions in both the general and emergency units.

On Monday, a patient referred from Mpweketoni Sub-County Hospital with severe kidney complications was receiving minimal attention despite her deteriorating condition.

"My mother's abdomen had been swelling, a condition that is getting worse," said the patient's daughter, who requested anonymity for fear of victimisation. "Yesterday morning, she woke up unable to move. She is not able to feed, and her vitals are gradually failing. I have not had my mother receive care today. I am fearing for her life."

The daughter said she cannot afford to transfer her mother to a private hospital.

Atellah warned against the politicisation of health services, urging the CoG, the Ministry of Health, and the national government to take immediate action.

"We cannot assume things are normal when a key component of the health system has been on strike for 40 days," Atellah said. "There are many deaths, pediatric, maternal and others, that could have been prevented if we had functional hospitals."

He added that many preventable conditions are being normalised, and criticised the government's passive stance.

"We see the government has taken a stand to just watch. It is not possible to watch when we see problems in hospitals," he said.