Don’t intimidate doctors, says KMPDU secretary general

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has urged leaders to stop intimidating doctors, as the strike commenced on Monday. KMPDU acting secretary general Dr. Chibanzi Mwachonda said doctors have been pushed to the wall and they can’t work in hazardous environments any longer, “We had issued a 21 days strike notice, and extended it for 14 days, that’s a total of 35 days. Decisions now have to be made on this matter.”

He said no County government has solved the issues of doctors and that no orders will stop the strike, “Court orders will not stop this strike, Court orders will not keep doctors from dying or reduce the infections amongst doctors.” He affirmed that doctors will stay at home even as the Covid-19 rages on and health services which had already been paralyzed due to the nurses, clinical officers strike remain in a poor state.

He said doctors are now fundraising to cater for the costs their colleagues are incurring while in ICU, as much as Kshs 10 million collectively, “We’ll not allow that to happen anymore, today we have drawn the line,” he stated. He outlined some of the issues they want solved, including settling allowances they had agreed with the government in 2017, employing more doctors, setting up health facilities in each County for health workers, and setting up of a Health Services Commission, which he said will be able to solve most of the problems all health care workers face.