- Some of the issues the doctors want addressed by the government are the posting of interns and their salaries.
- Others are Collective Bargaining Agreement and counties to harmonise doctors' pay.
Image: JOHN KAMAU
Clerics in Kiambu county have called on President William Ruto to intervene and solve the ongoing doctors' strike in the country.
The clerics under the Federation of Evangelical and Indigenous Christian Churches of Kenya said the striking doctors have disrupted operations in key public hospitals as their union's stalemate with the government persists.
Led by the group's general secretary and the Presiding Bishop at Glory Outreach Assembly Church Bishop David Thagana, the clerics raised concerns that Kenyans are suffering as services are grounded in all public health facilities.
Talks to end the strike hit a snag on Wednesday after the government's side led by Deputy Chief of Staff and Deputy Head of Public Service Josphat Nanok refused to engage the striking medics any longer until they call off their boycott.
Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union on the other hand through secretary general Davji Atella insisted the strike would go on, with doctors assembling in Nairobi to protest.
Some of the issues the doctors want addressed by the government are the posting of interns and their salaries, Collective Bargaining Agreement and counties to harmonise doctors' pay.
Bishop Thagana said patients are at crossroads and undergoing untold suffering since they cannot access healthcare. He reiterated that the government's promise and agenda of providing access to Universal Health Care for Kenyans is at stake due to the persistent industrial action by the medics.
"The grievances being raised by the doctors are not new. It's high time the head of state intervenes and offers a lasting solution to the stalemate for the sake of Kenyans," he said.
The clerics also asked the government to change its tact in handling the conflict including constituting a new team to engage the medics, noting that the current attempts to solve the impasse has proved futile.
"The government must treat this matter with the urgency it deserves. The ongoing talks have dragged for a long time with no solution," bishop Thagana said.
Similar sentiments were echoed by pastor Humphrey Mwilu who said innocent Kenyans are losing their lives despite having a government that can offer solutions.
Mwilu questioned why it has taken so long for the government to address the plight of doctors saying the issue is being handled with laxity at the expense of Kenyans.
"If the government can rush to settle political disputes and their other matters of interest with haste, why can't they treat the doctors' strike with the seriousness it needs?" he posed.
Mwilu called on leaders across the country to speak up on the crisis saying they should be at the forefront in agitating for the interests of their suffering electorates.
Hilda Wambui said mothers, and especially those from humble backgrounds, are giving birth at home while other families have been forced to take care of their sick at home since there are no services being rendered in public hospitals.
She said most Kenyans cannot afford to go to private health facilities as they are too costly.
"All our leaders have proper medical covers and can access health services even in facilities abroad while Kenyans are suffering under their watch. Our leaders led by the President must rise up to occasion and address this crisis once and for all," Wambui said.