Clinicians countrywide to down tools in three weeks

The national chairperson Kenya Union for Clinical Officers (KUCO) Peterson Wachira addresses the press in Naivasha over failure by the government to include them in the rollout of SHIF. [ Antony Gitonga, Standard]

The health sector in the country is headed for the dogs after the Kenya Union for Clinical Officers (KUCO) issued a three-week notice over the failure by the government to include them in the rollout of the troubled Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).

The union has said that from December 23, over 30,000 of its members will down their tools over continued discrimination by the Social Health Authority (SHA).

The move comes a day after the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) called on all intern doctors to withdraw their services from December over job frustrations.

In the latest incident, the clinical officers accused the Social Health Authority of locking them out of the provision of services for ulterior motives.

According to the Union national chairperson Peterson Wachira, top officials from the authority were to blame for the current crisis that had affected over 6m Kenyans.

Wachira noted that the new SHA board had blocked clinicians from the list of service providers yet they operated over 1,000 private facilities in the country.

“We shall down tools on the 23rd of December if the board does not rescind its decision and we shall be holding demonstrations every Monday to protest this discrimination,” he said.

Addressing the press in Naivasha where the union was holding its AGM, Wachira noted that the crisis started once the SHIF came into force.

Flanked by the union officials, he warned that the health sector could collapse due to poor management by senior officers from SHA who had introduced a new funding model.

“The President has promised that the Universal Health Cover should work but this can’t work over the manner that the Social Health Authority is carrying out the rollout,” he said.

On his part, Antony Kariga, an eye surgeon from Nakuru said that over 80 percent of patients in need of eye operations could not get the services.

“The Social Health Authority has blocked us from offering these services and this has seen tens of operations put on hold,” he said.

This was echoed by James Nderitu, an anesthetist who said that they could no longer seek pre-authorization before conducting their services as was the case before.

“The new directives from the Social Health Authority are hurting patients across the country and hence the need for fresh engagement,” he said.

A dermatologist Austin Odour termed the move by SHA to remove clinical officers from the list of service providers as questionable and inhuman.

“There are five registered dermatologists in the country against millions of people seeking skin care treatment and we wonder how they will work following the new rules by SHA,” he said.

Ends.