Doctors at the Moi Teaching and Referral hospital in Eldoret have issued a two weeks strike notice, citing lack of a medical cover among other issues.
Dr Davji Atellah, the secretary general Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union, said the hospital had also failed to remit statutory deductions and money for bank loans for over two years causing suffering for the medics.
There was also open discrimination and poor working conditions for the doctors at the facility, which is the second largest referral hospital in the country, Dr Atellah said.
“After the 14 days, if the hospital will not have honoured our demands, then all doctors including consultants will proceed on strike as from February 4, 2025,” Atellah said.
The situation at the hospital was worsening, he added, saying the facility was experiencing shortage of drugs and other needs to enable the doctors work effectively.
Some facilities like the oxygen plant had failed to work for over a month.
“The doctors are in effect presiding over the death of their patients and that is not acceptable to us,” Dr Atellah said.
“They are to offer medical services which they themselves cannot access,” he said, adding that medics had to write up to 100 emails in order to be treated.
Atellah said some doctors were working like casual labourers because the hospital had for long failed to improve their terms of service.
“We have doctors who have no medical cover and have not been given any promotions yet the hospital has ignored their plight.”
He spoke after meeting doctors and KMPDU officials at the hospital, where medics expressed their frustrations.
The union said while other major hospitals had implemented signed CBAs, MTRH was yet to do so.
KMPDU also accused the hospital board of ignoring the declining state of services at the hospital.
MTRH boss, Dr Phillip Kirwa, said they had received the strike notice and the hospital board had met to discuss some of the issues raised.
“We have received the notice and we will engage the doctors to iron out the issues they have raised,” Dr Kirwa said.
He assured Kenyans that services would continue smoothly and that the hospital was committed to offering quality services to the public.
But Dr Atellah dismissed the MTRH board’s argument that the predicament at the referral facility has been occasioned by budget cuts from the national government.
He said the issue of financial issues should not arise because it receives funding from the Treasury, similar to the Kenyatta National Hospital.
Hospital services were collapsing, he said, yet the management had failed to give proper reasons for the situation.
The hospital must release all third party deductions before the expiry of the 14 days.
They called on the government
to replace the board with members
who can manage the hospital effectively
