- Following the signing, the ministry said it had revoked the internship offer letters issued on March 18, 2024.
- The ministry has also not been paying clinical officer interns who were posted in April.
Image: FILE
All the 1,210 medical interns will report to work on August 1, the Ministry of Health has announced.
However, the ministry remained mum on the remaining 2,550 interns from other health cadres who are yet to be posted.
The ministry has also not been paying clinical officer interns who were posted in April.
Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni on Wednesday said they had signed an agreement with the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists’ Union for the medical interns to begin their internships by August 1.
"This crucial agreement confirms the immediate posting of 1,210 intern doctors, enabling them to start their internships by August 1, 2024," Muthoni said.
Following the signing, the ministry revoked the internship offer letters issued on March 18, 2024.
The intern doctors will now proceed under the conditions set out in their new internship placement letters. "The terms of engagement for these intern doctors will follow the conditions set out in their placement letters," said Dr Davji Atellah, the KMPDU secretary general
The issue of remuneration, which has been a contentious point, will be resolved based on the final determination of the Eldoret Employment and Labour Relations Court Petition E003 of 2024 and other related cases.
The PS assured, "All arrears earned before the court's decision will be paid in full within 90 days of the ruling."
Acknowledging the ongoing court matters, the ministry and KMPDU emphasised their commitment to resolving the issues.
"The ministry and KMPDU acknowledge the ongoing matters in the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Eldoret and Nairobi," Atellah said.
Medical interns had protested at Afya House on Monday, July 8, to express frustrations over delayed official posting.
They sustained the protests for four days, sleeping at the MoH main gate on some nights, until Thursday, July 1, when they called off the protest in what they said was out of goodwill.
Former Health CS Susan Nakhumicha had said delays in intern deployment affected all health cadres and not just medical trainees.
“As of today, the total number of interns awaiting posting across [all] the cadres is 3,760, for a total budget of Sh4.8 billion. Because of the budget ceiling, the ministry received an allocation of Sh3.7 billion in the financial year 2024/2025 for internship,” Nakhumicha said.
On July 11, Nakhumicha said it was impractical to pay interns the monthly Sh206,400 they were demanding since the cost of internship had steadily surpassed the available funds. She said other public service interns earn Sh25,000 per month.
The government cited financial restrictions and proposed a stipend of Sh70,000 per month, as recommended by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, whereas the union argued for the 2017 collective bargaining agreement rate of Sh206,400 per month.
The CS said over the past 20 years, there has been an "exponential increase" in the number of public and private educational facilities that teach medical professionals.
She said since January last year, the ministry has posted 4,156 interns across six medical cadres, including 1,735 doctors. This has cost the government Sh4.2 billion.