The Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret City is facing an acute nursing staffing deficit of up to 1,000 nurses amid a mass exodus of experienced professionals leaving for greener pastures in Europe, the United States and the Middle East.
Chief Executive Officer Philip Kirwa has revealed that between 60 to 100 nurses resign annually from the second-largest national referral hospital in Kenya in search of greener pastures abroad.
According to the CEO, the hospital currently has a workforce of 4,500 nurses, and a good number are in the process of migrating to Europe, the US and the Middle East.
The exodus is mainly driven by better salaries and more conducive working environments compared to their local experiences.
"The mass exodus of well-skilled and long-serving nurses to the US and UK annually has caused a deficit of 1,000 nurses at our hospital and it has not been easy to fill the gap owing to budgetary constraints from the National Treasury," he said.
The CEO has urged the National Government to provide adequate funds to hire nurses on better terms, as the brain drain needs to be checked.
"We are currently facing a serious shortage of nurses at the hospital following mass exodus yearly. Unless the government moves with speed and addresses the welfare of nurses in the country, our public hospitals will continue to experience more shortage of skilled and experienced nurses," he cautioned.
The MTRH boss said the rising number of nurses seeking greener pastures abroad should be a wake-up call to the government and other stakeholders to come up with policies that will encourage to remain in Kenya.
"It does not make sense to spend millions of shillings training our healthcare workers only for them to migrate to Western countries after working in our hospital for a few months or years," he said.
However, Dr Kirwa praised Kenyan nurses for being well-trained and meeting international standards, making them marketable globally.
According to the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), Kenyan health professionals have been migrating in large numbers to foreign countries since the 1990s.
A 2023 report by the Ministry of Health showed that up to 64.4 percent of health professionals had expressed a desire to leave the country for greener pastures abroad.
Nurses at MTRH have recently been on a strike that paralysed essential services at the facility and only recently returned to work following an order by the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Eldoret suspending their industrial action.
Justice Maureen Onyango directed striking nurses to resume work pending the hearing and determination of a case filed by MTRH on the suspension of the strike. MTRH had applied for a certificate of urgency seeking the court’s intervention to end the strike.
Soon after, Dr Kirwa announced that the government would provide the cash-strapped hospital with additional funding of Sh1 billion to help it address some of the challenges facing it, including the grievances raised by the nurses.
The hospital CEO said it was currently facing cash flow hitches stemming from budgetary cuts, noting that additional funding from the government would greatly help it address some of the immediate financial challenges.
Mr Seth Panyako, the national secretary-general of the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN), issued the strike notice on February 22, citing seven demands, which included: a demand for promotions, a functional medical cover, implementation of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) salary adjustments, understaffing and harassment of nursing staff.
The union further raised concerns over delayed remittance of statutory deductions, rotational change in the nursing department, stagnation in leadership, and discrimination of staff in private wings at the facility.
Dr Kirwa said the bulk of nurses' demands had been addressed through negotiations with union officials. He expressed hope that the remaining concerns would be solved through dialogue with the union.
