Nakuru County mobilises doctors to help flood survivors

Nakuru County doctors have responded to a call from their employer to return to work and tend to survivors of the Maai Mahiu floods.

The walls of a water-filled gully collapsed on Monday morning, killing 52 people and displacing hundreds. Survivors are being admitted to Naivasha Sub County, forcing the county to mobilise willing doctors to return to work and help treat survivors.

According to Dr Bernard Warui, the Medical Superintendent of Naivasha Sub County Hospital, almost all doctors and clinical officers in the county have resumed work to respond to the disaster in Naivasha Sub County. The doctors, said Dr Warui, will serve for the duration of the tragedy and only treat victims of the tragedy. The doctors are based at Naivasha Sub County Hospital, Maai Mahiu, Longonot Health Centre.

"At least 111 people were treated. Those with serious injuries were referred to Naivasha Sub-County and Kijabe Mission Hospital. Most of them had broken bones, bruises and cuts. Fortunately, medics arrived almost immediately after the tragedy. At the moment, most of the patients are out of danger and stable, except for a few who are still being attended to by paramedics," said Dr Warui.

As the country celebrated Labour Day, the doctors' strike entered its 49th day yesterday, with doctors still demanding the full implementation of the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The ongoing impasse is also over the delayed posting of junior doctors, whose salaries have been slashed by 91 per cent, with doctors arguing that the junior doctors should only be posted under the terms of the 2017 CBA. The doctors have also complained about the lack of comprehensive health insurance for doctors and the shortage of staff in hospitals. 

While President William Ruto ordered the Kenya Defence Forces to set up a clinic and help recover bodies, he also asked doctors to go back to work and chided them for making demands that the country's financial resources could not meet.

"We need to tighten our belts and live within our means as a country so that we have more resources to deal with our economic challenges and invest in goods and services that benefit all citizens, not just some. It is not fair, proper or reasonable for any group to make demands that run counter to this imperative, to take their claims beyond legitimate benchmarks or beyond our economic capacity," the President said.

"I would like to urge workers, including our daughters and sons who are doctors, that as social partners we must quickly address the pertinent issues at hand to ensure that essential services continue uninterrupted and our commitment to serving our citizens remains unwavering," he added.

 He explained that the government had accepted 17 of the 19 issues put forward by the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dental Union (KMPDU). The other two issues, the President said, were still pending for financial reasons.

 "There is no need for acrimony. It's good that we sat down together. We want to express ourselves in a reasonable way, without turmoil and without fighting, because it is possible to reach an agreement. For our doctors, the government has put on the table what it is willing to do. Out of 19 points, the government has accepted 17," he said.

"There are two left because it is not possible at the moment for financial reasons. I am asking our doctors to go back to work. We will fix things, we will strengthen the economy and everyone will get their rights as we move forward.

Among the 19 issues raised by the doctors were the implementation of the 2017/2021 CBA, multi-year salary delays, non-remittance of statutory deductions and insurance premiums, comprehensive health insurance for all doctors, employment of all currently unemployed doctors, and the provision of adequate personal protective equipment in all health facilities.

The doctors also demanded that doctors be given postgraduate training and promoted to the right job grades, that all intern doctors be posted, and that call allowances for medical practitioners in universities be provided, among other things.

Meanwhile, the KMPDU insists that doctors are committed to upholding the 2017 CBA and will not compromise on the posting of intern doctors.