Nurses Strike: Deaths recorded among mothers, newborns as strike persists

Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives from various hospitals across the country converged in Nairobi for a strike. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

At least 83 maternal deaths have been recorded during the period of the nurses’ strike.

Another 513 perinatal deaths have also been recorded, as health professionals warn that the prolonged disruption of public health services is putting mothers, newborns and other patients at risk.

The nurses’ strike, which began on July 29, entered its 37th day on Thursday, with the Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives (KNUNM) taking its grievances to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) offices.

They demanded a letter of no objection to help unlock the stalemate.

Nurses demonstrated at the SRC offices, accusing the commission and the Council of Governors (CoG) of delaying a resolution to the dispute.

KNUNM deputy secretary-general Maurice Opetu said the two institutions held the key to ending the impasse.

“There are only two people making infants die, only two people making Kenyans suffer and that is SRC and CoG,” Opetu said.

He said nurses would continue returning to the commission until their demands were addressed.

“We shall be coming here every day until they give a letter of no objection,” he said.

KNUNM secretary-general Seth Panyako said the strike remained active and would continue until the union’s demands were met.

“The nurses’ strike that commenced on 29th July is still on; it is still very active and energised and will go on until our demands are met,” Panyako said.

“The nurses have made a resolve that if they cannot be respected, they will never continue giving services.”

The demonstration came as health professional associations raised alarm over the effect of the strike on patients, particularly women and newborns.

Figures presented at a joint briefing showed that eight maternal deaths, 16 neonatal deaths and 55 perinatal deaths were recorded nationally between September 1 and September 3.

A further 22 maternal deaths, 44 neonatal deaths and 130 perinatal deaths were recorded last week, while 75 maternal deaths and 458 perinatal deaths were recorded in August.

The figures were presented as data from the Every Woman Every Newborn, Everywhere (EWENE) dashboard, with the associations warning that they may not reflect the full extent of the disruption.

They said fewer women were reaching health facilities to give birth, making it difficult to establish how many were delivering outside the formal health system or experiencing complications without skilled care.

Midwives Association of Kenya vice-president Dr Eunice Atsali said the disruption was forcing some women to seek alternatives.

“Our women actually have gone back to giving birth in the village, which is concerning,” she said.

Dr Atsali urged the government, unions and other stakeholders to resolve the dispute and restore access to nurses and midwives.

The crisis is also affecting patients requiring specialised care, including those undergoing dialysis, with health professionals warning that missed treatment can have serious consequences.

Dr Supa Tunje, the president of the Kenya Paediatrician Association, said the disruption had also affected access to inpatient care, with many public facilities unable to admit patients.

“Most of the public healthcare facilities in the public are not taking in admissions, so patients who have complications requiring admission are not being admitted,” he said.

She said level six facilities could not absorb all the patients who would ordinarily be admitted at lower-level hospitals.

Some public facilities have resorted to contracting nurses on a locum basis to help maintain essential services and reduce pressure on the available workforce.

The professional bodies, bringing together representatives of nurses and midwives, paediatricians and clinical officers, called on the national and county governments, KNUNM, SRC and other stakeholders to urgently resolve the dispute.

At the centre of the nurses’ grievances is the implementation of the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), alongside career progression guidelines and other outstanding issues.

While some issues surrounding nurses recruited under the Primary Healthcare Network are being resolved, the CBA remains a major sticking point.

Kenya Clinical Officers Association secretary-general Joseph Chibi also added that the disruption was already taking a toll on patients, with rising mortalities underscoring the need for an urgent resolution.

“It is time now that we are seeing mortalities rising among our mothers and other citizens of this country that can be avoided,” he said.

For nurses, however, the message at SRC was that returning to work without resolving the outstanding grievances is not an option, putting the ball firmly in the court of the parties negotiating the dispute.