• The senator expressed dismay that qualified health workers who had served the county passionately at the height of Covid-19 had been kicked out.
• In the purge, 249 staff from the Nakuru County Referral and Teaching Hospital (NCTCH) and 150 from Naivasha subcounty have been affected.
Image: FILE
Nakuru Senator Tabitha Karanja has termed the move to terminate the contracts of close to 600 health workers in the county "unfair and inhuman".
She warned of looming deaths and suffering if the county sends the workers home, following the end of their contracts.
The most affected staff are nurses and pharmacists.
“If no urgent intervention is made to prevent the health crisis in our county, I fear of pain, panic, torture and possible loss of lives. This crisis is likely to visit upon our people,” she warned.
The senator expressed dismay that qualified health workers who had served the county passionately at the height of Covid-19 had been kicked out.
"The team of healthcare personnel is not only diligent and passionate about their work but also very experienced thanks to the county government which spent its resources on capacity building, specialised training as well as mentorship,” Karanja said.
To avoid the expertise from going down the drain, the legislator proposed that the most competent and top-performing health workers be absorbed on permanent and pensionable basis.
She said the group should not be subjected to further interviews and recruitment processes, while contracts of the other experienced healthcare workers are extended for another term.
The senator said all healthcare workers should be employed through the County Public Service Board to avert corruption, sexual exploitation and malpractice.
In the purge, 249 staff from the Nakuru County Referral and Teaching Hospital (NCTCH) and 150 from Naivasha subcounty have been affected.
In the termination letters dated June 21 and signed by different hospital superintendents, the affected workers were advised to reapply for the jobs when they are re-advertised by the public service board.
“We regret to inform you that we will be ending your contract as a technical staff on June 30, 2023, in compliance with the minimum notice period required by your contract,” the letters said.
“You are required to return any of the company’s material or equipment to which you had access to and you are entitled to be paid your final wages up to June 30.”
In a letter by Medical Services chief officer Dr John Murima, the top management of the hospitals were directed to inform the affected staff.
Murima said the county would declare the positions vacant and advertise them through the public service board in the coming days, with calls on the affected staff to re-apply.
“The purpose of this letter is to notify you that the engagement of all hospital technical staff contracts engaged on a short-term basis will end on the June 30,” the letter by Murima read.