Strike by nurses and doctors begins to crumble

A two-day medics' strike was Wednesday night headed for collapse in parts of Coast after cracks emerged in the giant Kenya National Union of Nurses (Knun).

At Coast Provincial General Hospital (CPGH), nurses in unofficial uniforms were attending to patients as reports indicated that their counterparts in Lamu had called off the strike.

"I went to a private hospital yesterday (Tuesday) and the doctors prescribed medicine worth Sh16,000 for my boy. I decided to come here (CPGH) and I'm happy he has been treated for free," said Ms Emily Atieno, the mother of a four-year-old son who was admitted yesterday after he was bitten by a snake.

Nurses who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being seen as traitors said "our conscience could not allow us to leave the child to die," adding that services being offered at the region's referral hospital were still low.

Many released

At the facility, nurses on contract from Mombasa County Government were also attending to the patients admitted to the facility even as many of them were released yesterday.

Ali Gabow, the chairman of Knun in Lamu, told The Standard last evening that all the branch's 140 nurses in public hospitals had rejected the strike "because we do not believe the national office exhausted all avenues to negotiate before calling the strike."

Mr Gabow claimed the Lamu Knun branch has cut links with the national office, saying it had failed to defend the nurses.

He also claimed that since 2013, nurses seconded to counties from the national government have been earning less than those employed by county governments.

In Kwale County Hospital, Nursing Officer in charge Ali Moyo said maternity, emergencies and critical conditions were being attended to with many of them receiving drugs before being discharged.