President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday asked the striking doctors and nurses to resume work and give dialogue a chance.
Speaking at Makindu Hospital during his tour in Ukambani, Kenyatta indicated that the only way an amicable solution could be reached was by the health workers first resuming work as consultations continue.
“Let us be human and be mindful of the lives of the patients. I am confident that we will find a solution to the problem,” Kenyatta stated.
The Head of State announced that governors and the Ministry of Health had been working round the clock for weeks, engaging the unions to resolve the matter and urged the striking doctors and nurses not to allow more lives to be lost.
Health workers downed their tools on Monday in a bid to push the government to implement a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) they signed in June 2013.
According to the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Secretary-General Dr Fredrick Oluga, the Government had gone against their agreement for three years now.
The strike by the nearly 5,000 doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists and interns is seeking to push for a review of job groups, promotions, deployment and transfer of medical officers, as well as remuneration.
Since the strike begun on Monday about 18 patients across the country have died while thousands of others are languishing in pain and suffering for lack of medical attention.
At the same time, tens of mentally ill patients who broke out of the Mathari Hospital at the beginning of the strike are still missing.
-kenyans.co.ke
