Trans Nzoia Deputy Governor Stanley Tarus yesterday urged nurses to return to work. He said the county has fulfilled their demands.
Tarus said one reason the nurses were striking was insufficient drugs.
Yesterday he flagged off drugs worth Sh25 million at Kitale Town Hall.Another consignment of medicine worth Sh95 million will be supplied before the end of April, Tarus said.
Last week nurses demanded overhauling the management of the health docket, full payment of allowances, fixing the under-staffing problem and transferring the Health executive and the chief officer. But Governor Patrick Khaemba on Friday he said will not transfer Health executive Christine Tanguli and Chief Officer Charles Barasa.
Khaemba said he will suspend five senior officials in the department over misuse of funds. He said the five officers are suspected to have been involved in drugs and linen theft.
“I don’t want to hear that nonsense that the Health executive and the chief officer must have a medical background,” Khaemba said.
“Within the hospital we had thieves, we have got a few and I’m very annoyed that my staff has not expedited disciplinary action against them.”
Yesterday Tarus said the issue of nurses allowances will be addressed by the Council of Governors and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.
The deputy governor said the unrest at the health department might have been caused by conflict of interest because of tenders.
The county government recently made changes and he said some officials might have been unhappy and are fighting back. “Those people who have been supplying air are the ones making noise because they are seniors at the department. They want us to pay for things that were not supplied, and we have a fake pending bill of Sh200 million,” Tarus said.
He urged residents to seek services in public health facilities as clinical officers, nurses’ managers and doctors are still on duty.
Patients have been seeking services in private health facilities since the nurses went on strike.