- In the video, the nurse being attacked did not fight back
- The Nairobi Women’s Hospital College admitted the woman is a theatre technology student awaiting graduation
Image: The Star
The Ministry of Health has said that a theatre student who recently beat up a nurse on duty will be punished.
A video taken on December 31 last year, shows the woman, accompanied by a man, insulting and slapping a nurse at Port Victoria Hospital in Busia.
A Nairobi-based college admitted the woman was its theatre technology student and is awaiting graduation.
The two assailants claimed the hospital staff delayed attending to their patient, who had trouble breathing. They also invoked the name of a person called "Ababu".
The man was not immediately identified.
Health Cabinet Secretary Nakhumicha Wafula said the attackers will face "the full force of the law."
“This recent case of assault on a healthcare worker is not just an attack on an individual; it is an assault on the entire healthcare system and the principles that guide it," she said.
"Assaulting a healthcare worker not only endangers their lives but also disrupts the vital services they provide to other patients and the community.”
Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba condemned the behaviour and said the law must take its course.
“The actions associated with me do not align with my values or commitment to public service. I unequivocally condemn any behaviour against principles of integrity. I am thoroughly investigating these allegations and will take decisive actions to rectify any wrongdoing,” he said.
The Nairobi Women’s Hospital college admitted that the female attacker was its theatre technology student.
“To address this matter, we have initiated an internal investigation to gather all relevant information and will institute appropriate measures In line with our institution's policies and procedures,” Sandra Mbuvi, the hospital's corporate relations officer said.
“These actions (of the student) do not align with the values and standards we uphold at NWHC. As an organisation, we are committed to nurturing compassionate and responsible professionals.”
The National Nurses Association of Kenya, a professional lobby for nurses, also condemned the attack.
“The provocative savage attack to a nurse allegedly by a relative of a politician was heinous, extreme and uncalled for in totality,” Collins Ajwang, NNA-K president, said.
“We urge the authorities to take action and urgently address the matter with the seriousness it deserves as we seek remedial measures to mitigate the damage caused to a professional nurse.”
In the video, the nurse being attacked did not fight back.
The Port Victoria management did not immediately respond to our queries.
There are many cases of nurses being assaulted in hospitals in Kenya.
In 2021, public health specialist Samuel Gatimu interviewed all nurses at the Kenyatta National Hospital emergency department on their experience of violence at work.
They said violence is common at work.
At least seven out of every 10 nurses said they have been insulted and assaulted by patients and relatives.
“The overall one-year prevalence of workplace violence among participating nurses was 76.8 per cent,” Gatimu and his colleagues said in their study published in the 'Safety and Health at Work' journal.
They said the prevalence is higher than the global prevalence of workplace violence of 51.7 per cent.
“Other African countries, including Ethiopia (26.7 per cent) Ghana (52.7 per cent) and Gambia (62.1 per cent).”
Gatimu is a lecturer at the Aga Khan University while co-author Betty Kiunga is from the Accident and Emergency department of KNH.
Other authors are Horatius Musembi and Rachel Kimani from the Aga Khan University.
Their study is titled 'Prevalence and effect of workplace violence against emergency nurses at a tertiary hospital in Kenya'.
KNH’s emergency department is the busiest in Kenya and receives 110 to 130 patients daily.
The study targeted all 86 nurses working in the ED but only 82 returned the questionnaire detailing their experience in the last 12 months.
“Of the 93 reported workplace violence incidents, 62 were verbal abuse, 14 were physical violence, 11 were sexual violence and six were verbal threats,” Gatimu said.
Verbal abuse was described as language or behaviours that humiliate, degrade a nurse and create fear, intimidation and anger.
Physical violence was described as intentional acts such as beating, kicking, slapping, stabbing, shooting, pushing, pinching, scratching and biting, causing harm to the nurse.
Most incidents were perpetrated by patients and their relatives.
At KNH, most patients are generally accompanied to the ED by two to three relatives.
Patients' relatives were more aggressive and perpetrated half of all physical violence and verbal threats, 54.5 per cent of sexual harassment and 57.5 per cent of verbal abuse incidents.
Most physical violence incidents occurred during the afternoon or night shifts.
Gatimu said emergency nurses work in high-pressure, understaffed settings and have direct contact with ‘highly stressed’ patients and their relatives.
“Overcrowding, long waiting time, feeling of lack of care and ineffective patient-provider communication have been suggested as reasons for violence perpetrated by patients and their relatives,” they said.
They also said the emergency department nurses experience burnout that increase their exposure to violence.
“In East Africa, nurses also have a poor self-image and believe that the public perceives them as rude, cruel, harsh and unkind,” they said.
The data was collected in October 2019.
Most perpetrators of physical violence were verbally warned and reported to the hospital security.