Health services in Kilifi county might be disrupted in the next 10 days after doctors in the region threatened to down their tools.
Over 100 doctors, working in different hospitals and health facilities in Kilifi, have protested poor remuneration and promotions.
The doctors have given the county government up to December 18 to sort out their issues
The doctors claim the devolved unit has failed to promote doctors to higher job groups for over 10 years.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners, and Dentists’ Union (KMPDU) Coast region chairman Niko Gichana said the union has been engaging the County administration but nothing has been forthcoming.
He said some doctors who were employed even before devolution have stagnated in terms of promotion.
“The delayed common establishment promotions and consultant re-designations have not only stagnated the careers of our doctors but have inflicted profound financial burdens upon them," Gichana said.
" That is the crux of this looming strike scheduled to commence on the 19th of December. It is not an act born out of whimsy but a collective cry for justice and fairness."
Gichana further said doctors’ salaries are subject to many levies, making their lives unbearable.
“These dedicated professionals, the pillars of our healthcare system, are being denied the recognition and compensation they rightly deserve. We cannot afford to ignore the gravity of this situation," he added.
"Lives are at stake, not just in the hospitals and clinics, but in the homes and communities that rely on the expertise and dedication of these healthcare heroes. It's time to acknowledge their sacrifices and honour their commitment."
Kilifi County Executive Committee Member for Health Peter Mwarogo said the department is in talks with the doctors to make sure their demands are met.
Gichana said doctors are ready to dialogue with the government to avert the strike.
“We call upon the authorities to swiftly address these grievances, not as a mere obligation but as a moral imperative. We also ask the citizens of Kilifi to put their elected representatives to task," he said.
"Let us not forget that the heart of any prosperous society lies in the well-being of its citizens, and the cornerstone of that well-being is a robust and supportive healthcare system."
Coast region KMPDU secretary Ghalib Salim said since the inception of devolution, there was only one promotion from job group M to N and N to P.
“This is something that we have been engaging the county for long. They have always been taking us in rounds. We have doctors who have been receiving the same salary since 2014. Taxes are being added almost every year,” Salim said.
In January, Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro said he had initiated talks with the doctors’ union to avert a looming countrywide strike.
“We want to talk to them as a county about issues to do with the CBA and in the next two or three weeks several doctors will be given promotions so these are some of the issues we are trying to solve,” he said.
Salim said Mung’aro has been very positive about the issue but blamed his officers for not implementing the agreement
He warned that the strike would move to other counties after Kilifi.
The doctors are also calling for recognition for their effort to save lives in the Shakahola massacre.
