Kenya doctors could join the nationwide health workers’ strike within days if the government and the Council of Governors (CoG) fail to resolve the ongoing nurses’ dispute.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) says it will issue a seven-day strike notice if the 40-day nurses’ strike is not resolved, warning that public hospitals could effectively grind to a halt.
KMPDU Secretary-General Dr Davji Atellah said doctors can no longer remain silent as patients continue to bear the consequences of the prolonged industrial action.
Speaking during a briefing on the health crisis, Atellah said the absence of nurses had severely disrupted the delivery of essential healthcare services across the country.
He warned that doctors cannot provide comprehensive patient care in facilities where nursing services are unavailable.
“There is no business of having doctors if there is no nursing,” Atellah said.
According to the union, public hospitals are already operating under significant pressure because of an existing shortage of doctors. The nurses’ strike has added another layer of strain, leaving medical practitioners unable to provide services to patients who require nursing care.
Atellah said the situation could no longer be treated as a normal labour dispute, arguing that the consequences were increasingly being felt by patients and families seeking treatment.
“Every single day patients bear the burden as they are not being attended to,” he said, noting that nursing is a critical component of patient care.
The KMPDU secretary-general raised particular concern over reported deaths involving children and mothers, saying some of the deaths could potentially have been prevented if adequate nursing care was available.
He also noted that hospitals were currently facing difficulties admitting patients because doctors cannot safely manage admissions without nurses to provide continuous care.
“Currently, there are no admissions in hospitals. Doctors can't admit patients without a nurse,” Atellah said.
KMPDU has called on the national government and the Council of Governors to urgently intervene and bring the nurses’ strike to an end.
The doctors’ union is demanding the immediate resolution of the nurses’ strike, full implementation of agreements already signed by the government and an end to the wider crisis affecting public healthcare.
Atellah said the government is aware of the grievances raised by nurses and should move quickly to resolve the dispute.
He warned that failure to reach a settlement within seven days would trigger the next phase of action by doctors.
“If this is not resolved in seven days, we will issue a strike notice and ensure the hospitals are closed completely,” he said.
Atellah also raised concerns over the implementation of agreements previously reached between doctors and the government.
He said 44 counties have yet to comply with commitments contained in an agreement signed with doctors, adding to frustrations within the medical profession.
The union maintained that the current situation cannot be allowed to continue, particularly as patients who require specialised and continuous medical attention are left without adequate care.
Atellah stressed that nurses cannot simply be replaced by other healthcare workers, given the specialised role they play in patient management.
“We can't say things are normal. They are not normal,” he said.
With the nurses’ strike now in its 40th day, the threat of doctors joining the industrial action could deepen an already serious crisis in Kenya’s public health system.
The KMPDU has consequently given the government and the Council of Governors seven days to find a lasting solution, failing which doctors could begin the process of shutting down services in public hospitals.
