Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists’ Union members at a press conference in Kisumu on Friday. They downed tools on Monday to push for better remuneration. Photo/JACOB OWITI | FILE
Clinical officers took over operations in public hospitals as doctors went on strike, the latest group of public sector employees to withdraw services in pursuit of higher pay and better working conditions.
“The clinical officers and interns have taken up most of the work. We have put cases that do not require urgent attention on hold, but consultants are attending to emergencies,” said Dr Juliana Otieno, senior medical superintendent at the New Nyanza Provincial General Hospital.
She, however, said fewer people were visiting the hospital with some calling to confirm the status of their appointments.
A similar administrative plan was adopted at the Kenyatta National Hospital where consultant doctors and clinical officers attended to the patients.
“We have also not received many new patients at the Accident and Emergency unit since people are aware of the strike. They have most likely chosen to visit private hospitals,” said the hospital’s spokesman Simon Ithae.
Relatives of a 60-year-old man claimed he had died at the Coast Provincial General Hospital after the stand-ins could not diagnose the problem.
A meeting between Ministry of Medical Services and officials of the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), expected to chart way forward had not taken place as we went to press.
In addition to poor pay, the doctors want the government to address shortage of equipment and manpower which they say has restricted them from offering quality healthcare.
Dr Chege Mbiu, one of the striking doctors at the Nyeri Provincial General Hospital said the healthcare facility suffers from an acute shortage of specialist doctors, such as physicians, psychiatrists and paediatricians.
The doctors say they are planning to hold a demonstration in Nairobi on Tuesday.
“We have made several concessions on our demands and want the government to do the same so that this strike is called off,” said the secretary general of KMPDU, Dr Boniface Chitai.
There are an estimated 2,300 doctors working in the public hospitals. The union has an additional membership of 500 doctors working in the private sector.
The union had initially demanded a pay increase of 300 per cent, but was keeping its minimum demands close to the chest for negotiation’s sake.
Union officials said a doctor straight from college is paid a basic salary of Sh31,000, and after allowances and deductions, the take-home pay ranges from Sh39,000 to Sh45,000.
They said the pay does not match the cost of living that has been rising especially in the urban areas where most hospitals are located. In Nairobi for instance, rent for a two bed roomed apartment in estates professionals like doctors are expected to live ranges from Sh15,000 to Sh60,000 per month.
The cost of fuel, food and transport has increased by more than 50 per cent in the last two years, forcing doctors and other professionals to seek alternative or additional sources of income.
Others have migrated to southern African countries, Europe and the United States where the pay package is much better.
Union officials said a doctor in Namibia or South Africa takes home seven times the salary of his counterpart in Kenya per month. The one in Botswana takes home three times what a Kenyan doctor at the same level earns.
In Namibia, an intern earns a basic pay of Sh312,000, while in South Africa he takes home Sh340,191, although living standards and consumption trends vary in each country.
The highest paid doctor in Kenya, a medical specialist II earns a gross salary of Sh130,000 which is set to increase to Sh520,000 if the push to increase their pay is heeded.
According to Health Services Research, a health research vendor, the total cost of educating a single medical doctor from primary school to university in Kenya is $65,997 or Sh5.9 million based on the current exchange rate. It is estimated that for every doctor who emigrates, a country loses about Sh46.6 million worth of returns from investment.
The pay for doctors is lower in public hospitals despite the heavy workload they are subjected to because of the skills shortage.
Ministry of Health statistics for 2007 indicates that there are approximately 16 doctors per 100,000 population in Kenya with around 153 nurses per 100,000 against the World Health Organisation recommended health worker population standard of 228/100,000.
Last week, the government avoided what would have been total shutdown of public health system when it signed a pay increase deal with the 31,000 member of Kenya Health Professionals Society (KPHS).
This group comprise of nurses, clinical officers, laboratory technicians, pharmacists, physiotherapists, radiographers, occupational therapists, nutritionists and records officers, among others.
