By Lauryne Akoth
Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha has promised an imminent resolution to the ongoing doctors’ strike.
Speaking on Tuesday, the health CS noted that the ongoing health crisis stems from the finite nature of resources. ” The crisis that we are in today is because resources are not infinite. Resources have to be looked for and once we get those resources then we have to optimize how we use them,” said Nakhumicha.
She further highlighted the importance of the Social Health Insurance Fund noting that it will enable the ministry to collect funds that can be channelled into paying doctors and securing drugs and equipment for hospitals.
She provided reassurance to the public, stating that the government is actively striving to achieve a sustainable and harmonious resolution in the days ahead.
” What we do not want to do as a government is to put a bandage on a wound without treating it. That is why we are taking our time,” said the CS.
“I want to assure Kenyans that this situation is going to be in control, if not tomorrow, in the next few days, we are going to reach an agreement,” she further added.
Nakhumicha implored the doctors to resume negotiations with the government for the benefit of the patients.
” I want to ask of the doctors, that we serve a common patient. The government has extended an olive branch and given them an offer. It is up to them to come to the table and we discuss their counteroffer. We are willing,” stated Nakhumicha.
As the doctors’ strike reaches its one-month mark, the urgency to discover a resolution has intensified due to numerous patients being unable to access medical services.
A deadlock has persisted between both sides, with the government asserting their inability to afford the proposed Kshs 206,000 payment for medical interns, instead offering Kshs 70,000. Meanwhile, the doctors insist on nothing less than what was agreed upon in their 2017 collective Bargaining Agreement.
Doctors have also been adamant in their stance that the government must negotiate with them without resorting to intimidation or imposing conditions upon them.
While county governments such as Kisumu opted to suspend the striking doctor’s pay, the Inspector General of the Police Japheth Koome opted to give them a warning that came with repercussions.
Read more: “Striking Doctors Will Not Be Paid,” Anyang’ Nyong’o
On Sunday, the Inspector General of Police noted that the doctors’ strike had become a public nuisance and was posing a threat to public safety and security.
The IG issued a directive to the police to deal with the striking medics firmly and decisively per the law, a statement which did not board well with several unions including the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) and the Law Society of Kenya(LSK)
They all threatened to sue the IG and hold him responsible for any attacks on the striking medics as well as the attack on KMPDU’s Secretary General Davji Atellah.
Read More: “Doctors’ Strike Is A Nuisance,” Japhet Koome