Lead image for Hospitals overwhelmed as nurses' strike disrupts maternal care.
The Kenya Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society (Kogs) has urged the government to urgently resolve the nationwide nurses’ strike, now in its sixth day, as patients across counties continue to bear the brunt of disrupted healthcare services.
In a letter to newsrooms, the society’s president, Dr Kireki Omanwa, warned that the standard of care for pregnant mothers and women seeking critical reproductive health services is fast deteriorating when the nurses’ issues are put under the rug.
Kogs, in their letter, warned that the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) joining the nurses’ strike on Monday worsened the situation. This, however, changed after KNH nurses’ issues were eventually fixed a day after their strike began.
In a boardroom meeting between KNH leadership and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), the two parties agreed to address all issues that had led KNH nurses to down their tools.
Effective Tuesday, the SRC reviewed allowances requested by KNH nurses, raising the uniform allowance from Sh15,000 to Sh25,000 per year, the Nursing Service Allowance from Sh20,000 to Sh30,000, and adjusting leave allowance according to job groups.
While KNH nurses have since resumed duty, their counterparts in most county hospitals remain off work.
“We are not doing well at all; even though KNH is now working, the number of patients coming in is huge, and patients are being turned away,” Dr Kireki told Nation.
“The problem is that the labour ward and the post-natal ward are completely overwhelmed. There are no beds. We have received patients from other hospitals,” he added.