Kiambu County Chief Officer for Health, Patrick Nyagah, has dismissed reports of a health services paralysis in the county after a long-standing doctors’ strike.
In a statement on Friday, Nyagah assured that the county’s hospitals were up and running, despite the ongoing dispute with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) that has been ongoing for 127 days.
Nyagah clarified that, contrary to reports, a significant number of doctors were still on duty across the county.
“I want to take a moment to correct a few misconceptions. The first misconception is that doctors in Kiambu are not working, as has been portrayed by the union in the public arena. I want to say that doctors in Kiambu are working,” he asserted.
His clarification came amid claims that over 100 newborns died over the period during which doctors had been on strike.
Reports indicated that at least 136 newborns succumbed due to the lack of doctors, with a further five mothers also dying within that period.
Critics have pointed an accusing finger at Governor Kimani Wamatangi, accusing him of failing to address the needs of doctors. However, in response, Wamatangi described the criticism as politically motivated, noting that his rivals were out to get him.
He asserted that it was only a small number of doctors who had been misled into striking, adding that their salaries had been discontinued as a discipline-enforcing measure.
The situation in Kiambu attracted the attention of Members of Parliament (MPs), who called for the transfer of the county’s health services to the national government.
Also, lobby groups have given the Kiambu county government seven days to address the issue; failure to which they will forward a petition to the national government to dissolve the county.
Leaders such as former Chief Justice David Maraga also spoke on the matter, hitting out at the national government for the failures in the county. Maraga faulted the Social Health Authority (SHA) for locking out citizens from accessing health services.
“The so-called 'managed’ healthcare system is anything but managed. It is an act of impunity where deductions are made from the people, but they are treated as expendable when they seek access to healthcare,” Maraga noted.
Meanwhile, Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba called upon the relevant national institutions, professional bodies, and civil society organizations to urgently intervene and ensure that the healthcare crisis in Kiambu was addressed.
