• Stephen Mogusu, a 28-year-old doctor, was affiliated to Stablehealth Medicare Clinic, a private hospital in Kitengela.
• Stablehealth Medicare Clinic says Mogusu was experienced in comprehensive home healthcare and management of chronic diseases including cancer.
Fighting to breathe through machines in the ICU ward at Kenyatta University Teaching Research and Referral Hospital, Dr Stephen Mogusu made an impassioned plea to his colleagues: save yourselves.
“My dear colleagues, let me admonish you today to get your pay or get out while you can with your health or life intact,” the note, which carried his last words, began.
Mogusu went on to detail the pain and suffering he went through, saying not even a full pocket would replenish one's gasps for oxygen when needed.
“Usually I'd write and write bu[t] today I just want to say save your miserable selves from these institutions. You'll live to earn again,” he said.
Dr Mogusu was only 28 years old and had a bright future ahead.
But as he battled Covid-19, he had also not received his salary for five months.
Dr Mogusu lost the battle to Covid-19 on Monday, according to Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union.
The union said: "At the time of his death he had not received his salary for five months, had no insurance and his young family left with no compensation. Too steep a price for patriotism.”
Dr Mogusu was affiliated to Stablehealth Medicare Clinic, a private hospital in Kitengela.
His death brings to 13 doctors who have died of coronavirus since the pandemic reached Kenya. At least 26 nurses and nine clinical officers have also died. In total, the pandemic has killed 1,531 Kenyans.
By Monday, there were 1,172 Covid-19 patients admitted to hospitals.
According to Stablehealth Medicare, Dr Mogusu was one of 13 doctors affiliated to the facility, which has several branches in Nairobi.
The facility says Dr Mogusu was experienced in comprehensive home health care, management of chronic diseases including diabetes, hypertension and cancer support clinic or home setting.
On Monday, KMPDU used news of the death to drum up support for a strike they pushed to December 21.
KMPDU said Dr Mogusu also worked at a government facility and claimed that he had not received his salary for five months.
Dr Mogusu finished his internship at Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital last year before he was deployed to work on contract in one of the public hospitals.
Sources said the family was on Sunday looking for any healed Covid-19 patient to donate convalescence plasma or blood that has antibodies to fight the disease.
It is unclear whether anybody heeded their call.
In its strike notice on November 15, KMPDU demanded the provision of personal protective equipment for all healthcare workers whether in the public or private hospitals.
The doctors are also demanding comprehensive medical insurance cover for all healthcare workers, employment of an additional 2,000 doctors and creation of isolation centres for health workers who contract the virus.
The government has already agreed to provide comprehensive medical insurance for all civil servants including doctors, while counties have created special facilities for medical staff who fall ill.
"We have not had any meaningful engagement and commitment by the government of the day. Doctors across the country are well mobilised and are ready to withdraw their services for purposes of protecting their lives," KMPDU chair Samuel Oroko said.
"We are in the midst of a pandemic and as we speak we do not have the capacity in our hospitals to isolate our health care workers who have contracted Covid-19 in the line of duty."
Nurses have also issued a strike notice to both the national and county governments.
The 14-day strike notice issued by the Kenya National Union of Nurses on November 23 lapsed Tuesday.
Clinical officers went on strike Tuesday countrywide also demanding higher allowances, promotions and employment of more of the cadre.
(edited by o. owino)