The Nairobi Hospital Board has denied claims of a doctors' strike, contradicting the Kenya Hospital Association's (KHA) announcement of a possible walkout.
During a briefing with journalists on Monday, the board, led by its chairman Chris Bichage, said normal operations were going on smoothly and that reports on a doctors' strike was misinformation by a few individuals "who do not value life."
"Over the past few days, reports of an alleged strike by doctors at Nairobi Hospital have been circulating on various social media platforms and in sections of the mainstream media. As the board, we wish to inform our stakeholders, partners, customers and the general public that Nairobi Hospital doctors are not on strike. Operations are running smoothly and all our staff are working tirelessly," said Mr Bichage.
Regarding the disputes witnessed among the requisitionists who have been campaigning for the removal of the board, the hospital said they have been basing their campaigns on misinformation, falsehood, lies, gossip, and character assassination.
"I want to assure you that the truth will come out in time. The people behind the demands, quite a number of them, have been trying to get leadership positions in this hospital. Some of them went for elections and lost," added Mr Solomon Mwaisak, the board's vice chairman.
In a notice dated September 16 2024, the KHA, through the Admitting Staff Association, stated that the requisition team would continue to fight to save the facility and expressed their lack of confidence in the current management. They also mentioned that no further admissions would be accepted after the strike began and that medical care would only be offered to admitted patients.
"The general public is therefore informed that there will be no new admissions at Nairobi Hospital and doctors will only attend to patients in the wards, their private clinics and emergency cases," the notice read in part.
In response, the board said the Admitting Staff Association comprises consultant doctors who can also admit their patients to other health facilities.
"They are not obliged to admit patients as they can refer them to other facilities. So the argument that the doctors are on strike doesn't make sense, because if they don't bring patients to this hospital, it doesn't generate revenue. However, it's important to note that their privileges can be revoked at any time," the board said.
The board also said it had received an injunction blocking the KHA members' extraordinary general meeting on September 18, 2024.
The latest developments stem from an ongoing dispute between KHA's requisition committee and the hospital's management. The committee has accused the management of corruption, nepotism, cronyism and conflicts of interest, which it says have led to financial instability at the hospital.
In response to these allegations, Mr Bichage, maintained that the management has acted appropriately and has suggested that those tarnishing the hospital's reputation may have questionable motives.
"I dare say that the allegations of corruption and poor governance being peddled are by individuals who have failed to manipulate our sound governance structures for their selfish gain and have now resorted to a smear campaign against the hospital," said Mr Bichage.
