Didacus Malowa, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

- Tensions are boiling over in Kenya’s healthcare sector as the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) threatened to escalate the ongoing doctors’ strike in Kiambu into a full-blown nationwide shutdown.

KMPDU, frustrated by what it termed as systemic mistreatment of health workers in Kiambu, said it had exhausted all avenues of dialogue, seeing industrial action as the remaining course.

The Kiambu strike has paralysed public healthcare in the county, with patients being turned away from hospitals, while those in need of urgent care are left stranded.

At the center of the standoff are allegations of unpaid salaries, stalled promotions, grounded ambulances, and a chronic shortage of essential drugs.

KMPDU secretary general Davji Atellah issued a warning, accusing the Kiambu County Government of showing disregard for health workers and ignoring a formal notice served on Monday, May 5.

"As a union, we are saying that many a times counties and governors will come out and try to intimidate us. But we want to say that no amount of intimidation, no amount of threats, no amount of tantrums will resolve the problems that we have put on paper," Atellah said.

Atellah painted a grim picture of a healthcare system on the verge of collapse, laying bare the human cost of the ongoing crisis.

He noted that while health workers continue to soldier on under deteriorating conditions, they are met with empty promises, delayed pay, and bureaucratic stalling.

The KMPDU boss underscored that the situation had pushed many medics to their breaking point.

"Why only Kiambu County? The doctors are talking about delayed promotions. That it is an injustice to post a doctor as a consultant in a facility but pay them as a junior medical officer. We cannot allow this and it is a reality. This is not political in any way. It has to be rectified. We went on strike last year for this same issue," he added.

According to KMPDU, the county’s failure to address the issues raised is not just an administrative lapse, it is costing lives.

With ambulances grounded and hospital shelves running empty, patients are dying from preventable causes.

"The negligence to the people of Kiambu in getting health care has gone too far. And doctors have said they will not stand by and witness the patients dying because there are lack of drugs, the patients dying because there are shortages. And we will not cower over saying the realities and facts," he warned.

Despite the outcry, Kiambu County’s executive committee member for health services, Dr. Elias Maina, has downplayed the gravity of the situation.

Maina dismissed the union's grievances as minor and insisted that the county is actively addressing staffing and resource issues.

"It's not a problem for us. But the doctors have raised that as a problem that we delay paying. We have addressed the issues of human resource. We have been addressing the issues of shortage of staff. We have been hiring all cadres of staff to make sure that all our hospitals are adequately covered with the human resource that is required," explained Maina.

Elsewhere, during the KMPDU Annual Delegates Conference in Mombasa, medical interns expressed gratitude to Atellah for securing their KSh 206,000 monthly stipend.

This achievement followed a prolonged standoff with the government, which had initially offered KSh 70,000.

Atellah maintained that the full amount, as stipulated in the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement, was non-negotiable.

The interns, acknowledging his unwavering support during the 56-day strike, presented him with a symbolic gift and a heartfelt message.

Source: TUKO.co.ke