Hospitals struggle to cope as nurses strike disrupts services

Empty benches at Kisumu County Referral Hospital during the third day of Nurses strike. [ Rodgers Otiso-Standard]

Healthcare services across the country were disrupted on Friday as the nationwide nurses' strike forced some public hospitals to shut down while others struggled to operate with few staff, leaving thousands of patients stranded.

The industrial action entered its third day, affecting public health facilities in counties including Siaya, Kisumu, Homa Bay and Migori as nurses under the Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives (KNUNM) pushed for implementation of the 2017 Return-to-Work Formula, signing of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), implementation of nursing career guidelines and resolution of issues affecting Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff.

In Siaya County, most public health facilities have been shut down after nurses joined the strike, leaving residents, particularly patients living with chronic illnesses, without access to essential healthcare services.

KNUNM Siaya branch secretary Kennedy Hamisi said Siaya County Referral Hospital, Bondo sub- county and Usigu sub-county hospitals, together with health centres and dispensaries had all ceased operations.

"The majority of residents in Siaya depend on services offered in these public health facilities. When they are closed, it becomes a major challenge, especially for those who cannot afford treatment in private hospitals," Hamisi said, adding that patients who rely on routine clinics had been left stranded.

In Kisumu, patients seeking treatment at the Kisumu County Referral Hospital endured long waits as services slowed following the withdrawal of nurses.

Teresia Adhiambo, who arrived at the hospital at 6am seeking treatment, said she had completed the Social Health Authority (SHA) process but remained unattended to several hours later.

"I came here at 6am. The SHA process was completed and I even received my receipt but I have not been attended to," she said, adding that she could not afford treatment at a private hospital.

Kisumu County Executive Committee Member for Medical Services Dr Gregory Ganda acknowledged that the strike had affected service delivery but said negotiations with nurses were continuing. He said emergency, maternity and newborn services were among those affected, although a few nurses remained at health facilities to coordinate essential services.

In Nairobi, Mbagathi County Hospital said it had put in place contingency measures to ensure patients continued receiving treatment despite the industrial action.

Hospital pharmacist Dr Pius Kinuthia said about 70 nurses had joined the strike alongside clinical officers, but doctors, pharmacists and nurses engaged on a local basis were ensuring essential services continued.

" Even though our nurses have joined the industrial action which is their right, we are still operating and receiving patients. Not much has stalled and services are continuing," he said, adding that the hospital had continued receiving referral cases, including newborns.

Kinuthia said the hospital had deployed locally engaged nurses and where necessary, brought in additional staff to bridge staffing gaps, although financial constraints made it impossible to replace every striking nurse.

Elsewhere , the strike disrupted services in Lamu, leading to the closure of six laboratories due to staff shortage, while outpatients services in Migori continued despite the suspension of inpatient admissions. Nurses in Tana River and Turkana also joined the nationwide industrial acttion.

Meanwhile, KNUNM Secretary General Seth Panyako said the strike would continue until the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) issued a letter of no objection to facilitate implementation of the negotiated CBA.

He said recent engagements with the Ministry of Health and the Council of Governors had yielded progress, including incorporating the 2017 Return-to-Work Formula into the proposed CBA, improving risk allowances and addressing issues affecting UHC staff.

He however, insisted that nurses would not resume duty until the agreement received SRC's approval.

"The strike will only end when we see a letter of no objection from SRC," Panyako said, adding that about 40 counties were currently participating in the industrial action.

[Reports by Stecy Atieno, Rodgers Otiso, Anne Atieno and James Omoro]