The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has condemned the storming of Naivasha County Referral Hospital by a mob that seized a body from hospital custody.
The incident, which occurred on Monday, May 18, disrupted medical operations and left health workers in fear, the union said in a statement on Wednesday, May 19.
The raid on the hospital occurred during nationwide fuel price protests that left four people dead and over 30 injured across the country.
Protesters blocked roads and confronted police in several towns after the government hiked diesel prices by 23.5 per cent, stranding thousands of commuters after matatu operators downed tools.
In a statement on Wednesday, May 19, the union's Secretary General, Davji Atellah, demanded the government deploy security to health facilities across the country.
"How are we meant to save lives when our own survival is constantly under threat within the workplace?" noted Atellah.
KMPDU noted that health facilities are the very places the public runs to for emergency care during civil unrest, making the attack a contradiction that put lives at risk on two fronts.
The union observed that health workers stand on the frontline during periods of chaos, and forcing them to operate under fear directly threatens the continuity of critical care.
The union also raised concern over reports of ambulances being blocked by crowds. KMPDU said interfering with emergency vehicles amounts to a direct attack on human life and called on all demonstrators to grant unconditional safe passage to ambulances and medical teams responding to patients in distress.
KMPDU called on both the national and county governments to move with speed to secure Naivasha County Referral Hospital and health facilities across the country, and to assure all health workers of a safe working environment.
