• Baraton pioneered Bachelor of Science degree in nursing in Kenya in 1991.
• Vice chancellor says counties compromising quality health care by refusing to employ those with high expertise.
County governments are not hiring nursing degree holders, preferring those with diplomas instead.
University of Eastern Africa-Baraton vice chancellor Philip Maiyo said counties are compromising the quality of health care by refusing to employ those with high expertise.
“Quality of health care across the country will seriously deteriorate if counties focus on those who will earn less salary instead of those who will provide high level of service to patients,” Maiyo said.
Baraton pioneered the Bachelor of Science degree in nursing in Kenya in 1991 before the University of Nairobi followed suit in 1995.
He spoke at his office when he briefed the media on the forthcoming international conference for nurses and healthcare professionals to be held between June 3 and 5 at Baraton.
Delegates from various countries will explore challenges facing the profession, among them unemployment.
Maiyo said Kenya sufferes serious brain drain of both degree and diploma nurses due to unemployment despite the fact that counties face acute shortage of health workers.
“This calls on policy makers to re-exam the decision to devolve health services which has bred nepotism,” Maiyo said.
“Kenyan universities are now training high quality professionals to be absorbed by other countries while their own citizens are being attended by less qualified cadre of nurses,” the VC said.