Seme MP James Nyikal on Wednesday broke down and cried as he spoke about the myriad of issues bedevilling doctors.
The legislator was narrating how the government has neglected the medics for years, including this period when Covid-19 is ravaging the county.
The MP said that doctors are not paid risk, extraneous and other allowances to cushion them against the risks they take.
" A lot of the problems doctors are facing are systematic, " the MP said.
He added, "Everybody is saying that you have to be patriotic, you must be human. Who said patriotism is suicide?" Nyikal said as he broke down.
The MP was reacting to submissions by the KMPDU officials to the National Assembly's Health Committee revealing the harrowing experience they undergo attending to Covid 19 patients.
Led by Secretary-General Chibanzi Mwachonda, the medics said they are covered neither are they paid allowances as they put their lives on the line attending to Covid-19 patients.
Health CS Mutahi Kagwe on Tuesday said the government plans to employ more doctors to fix the existing shortage.
As of Tuesday, there were 2, 352 health care workers who had tested positive for the virus with 30 fatalities reported.
Currently, there are 9,826 doctors licensed to practice in Kenya. Of the number, 2,606 are specialists in various fields. One doctor serves at least5,000 people.
The WHO recommends at least 23 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10,000 people.
This means there is a shortage of at least 370,000 nurses and 149, 000 doctors.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union and clinicians have been pushing the government to employ more doctors.
