Healthcare services grind to a halt as clinical officers down their tools

Mbagathi County Hospital during the ongoing go slow strike by doctors on March 18, 2025. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard]

Kenya's healthcare system ground to a near halt yesterday as clinical officers across the country commenced a nationwide strike, leaving thousands of patients stranded after the expiry of a 21-day strike notice issued on December 3.

The industrial action, which began at midnight on Monday, has severely limited services across Levels 2 to Level 5 public hospitals, affecting maternal care, emergency services, routine outpatient consultations and disease control programmes.

At the Mbagathi County Referral Hospital, a facility that typically handles over a thousand patients daily, the impact was starkly visible.

The emergency unit stood eerily quiet with only a handful of patients scattered across waiting areas. Only two doctors were available to attend to outpatients, with admission services completely suspended.

"We are here to report that we have started our strike countrywide for clinical officers," said Peterson Wachira, Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) chairperson, at the facility.

"The 21 days that we gave the government elapsed yesterday and now we have no other option. There is nothing that saddens us more than having to leave our patients."

The strike centres on the government's failure to honour a return-to-work agreement signed on July 8, last year and the Ministry of Health's reluctance to sign a concluded Collective Bargaining Agreement despite negotiations spanning eight years.

Clinical officers are also demanding implementation of salary reviews approved by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), absorption of Universal Health Coverage and Global Fund staff into permanent and pensionable positions and compliance with court orders directing resolution of the dispute.

"In 2023 August, the court gave orders that we should have completed the CBA by December of 2023. That did not happen," Wachira said. "In 2024, that led to 120 days of strike to force the counties and the ministry to obey the court order."

He accused both the ministry and the Council of Governors of being in contempt of court, noting that the union's CBA has been awaiting signature for three months. The union described the governors as the primary obstacle to resolving the crisis.

Stephen Muthama, KUCO's Nairobi chair, noted SRC had approved salary increments, with the Ministry implementing phase Five while most counties remained at Phases One and Two.

The union also highlighted the plight of 8,000 clinical officers working in the public sector and the impact on patient care.