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Saying that the government could not afford to pay doctors enough, he added that the health professionals should understand that theirs is a situation where they have the "lives of people at hand".
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"There is a need to be open-minded. Whatever is required on the CBA is not something that can be achieved in a blink of an eye," he said.
Image: FILE
Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji has proposed amends in the health sector to ensure that public doctors do not run their clinics.
Speaking during an interview with Citizen TV on Thursday, he said there is a need to look into how the country will move forward with the issues of healthcare.
Mukunji gave the recommendation after claiming that the ongoing doctors' strike may paralyse the public health sector.
He claimed many of the doctors have private practice.
"Many doctors are continuing with their work in private hospitals. I feel also like there is a deliberate experiment on whether we should do away with public hospitals," he claimed.
"There is a need to regulate this sector in a way that when you are a public doctor and you agree to be paid this amount, let it not be that in the next-door, plot, you are running a clinic," he said.
He claimed some other higher-level hospitals are normally overwhelmed because some of the hospitals at other levels offer fewer services.
Saying that the government could not afford to pay doctors enough, he added that the health professionals should understand that theirs is a situation where they have the "lives of people at hand".
"There is a need to be open-minded. Whatever is required on the CBA is not something that can be achieved in a blink of an eye," he said.
The MP also said there is a need to define correctly "what we call strike for doctors", adding that there is no need to paralyse hospitals in the name of strikes.
"There should be clear guidance on how emergency services, speciality and other services can continue being offered by doctors while they are still demanding their right," he added " and they should be heard."
He recommended a conversation between the state and doctors to arrive at a solution as soon as possible to avoid the pain and grief occasioned by illness and death.
Doctors are demanding the posting of interns; payment of fees for doctors on postgraduate training; extension of contracts for UHC staff; payment of arrears of basic salaries as per the 2017 CBA and provision of comprehensive medical insurance.
They are in the fifth week of the strike.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) is pushing for the payment of Sh206,000 per month for the 1,210 intern doctors – medical doctors, pharmacists and dentists.
The government has rejected the demand, and instead offered a Sh70,000 stipend, triggering protests by the doctors across the country.
On Wednesday, the Employment and Labour Court directed doctors of different cadres to be present in public health hospitals to provide minimum safety services even as it extended orders suspending the countrywide strike.
Justice Byrum Ongaya said there should be at least two doctors per cadre; two medical officers, two dental officers, two pharmacists and at least two consultants to handle emergencies for all hospitals categorised as level 3, 4 and 5 until parties agree on a return-to-work formula.
For KNH, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and KUTRH, the judge said there should be at least 30 consultants, 50 medical officers, 10 pharmacists and three dentists on duty for each of the referral facilities.
For Mathare Teaching and Referral Hospital, Justice Ongaya said there will be 10 consultants and three medical officers.