Nurses have denied being invited by Health CS Cleopa Mailu for a meeting aimed at calling off their strike.
Union secretary general Seth Panyako asked the CS to stop lying to Kenyans that he and the Council of Governors had invited nurses for talks.
"How do you sit down to discuss the impact of the nurses strike? That is a misplaced priority. The only way to solve this stalemate is by ending the strike, which will involve coming up with a return-to-work formula that will capture the contents of our collective bargaining agreement," he told journalists on Thursday.
Governors claim 60 per cent of nurses have resumed work but the union says according to its records, those in 40 counties are yet to return to work.
"No life should be lost because health services are not being offered. The CS should be worried," said deputy secretary general Morris Opetu.
"It is painful for nurses because we are watching in anguish how Kenyans are suffering. There is lack of political goodwill from governors and the CS to end the stalemate."
Mailu has dismissed the nurses' strike, terming their demands a non-issue.
"The issues being raised by nurses are not important. Because of the industrial action, our health indicators have dropped by more than half," the CS said on Friday.
"What they need to do is go back to work and draft another CBA that will be in line with the 2018-2019 financial year."
Nurses downed their tools on June 5 and little effort is being made by the national and county governments to end the strike.
Among other things, they are demanding an increase in their uniform allowance to Sh50,000 and risk allowance to Sh11,500.
The strike has adversely affected vaccination campaigns countrywide.
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