Health ministry gets PSC’s approval on renewal of health workers’ contracts 

The Public Service Commission (PSC) has given the Ministry of Health the go-ahead to renew the contracts of health workers employed by the government under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Cohort 1 programme.

This comes after the Nation reported that the health workers had stopped working following the expiry of their contracts.

In a letter to Council of Governors Chairperson Anne Waiguru, Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha confirmed that the ministry has received approval from PSC.

“The Commission has granted approval for the renewal of the appointment of eight thousand five hundred and seventy-one (8,571) health workers employed under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) programme on the terms and conditions of the local agreement with effect from the date(s) of expiry of their contracts,” she said.

“The purpose of this letter, therefore, is to inform you of the decision of the Public Service Commission to make a commitment to renew the UHC contracts on local agreement terms,” she added.

Three-year contracts

Three years ago, the national government employed doctors, nurses, clinicians, midwives and health records officers and deployed them to different counties on three-year contracts.

Health workers employed in the second batch (UHC Cohort 2) revealed that their contracts expire in September this year.

The Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) and other medical sector unions had threatened to go on strike over the expired contracts in a letter dated May 15.

“Despite our several efforts to have these officers absorbed by the government into the permanent and pensionable establishment to attract and retain these staff for improved service delivery, the government has continued to turn a deaf ear to both our plea and the law,” KUCO said.