The Kenya Union of Clinical Officers now wants the Ministry of Health to post clinical interns with immediate effect.
The union officials when appearing before the Senate Health Committee on Tuesday expressed concern that the delay in posting the interns could endanger the lives of Kenyans.
“Delay endangers Kenyans since some interns may be practising without the required license and practising experiences,” KUCO chairman Peterson Wachira said.
The union said the long time taken to post the interns is delaying them from getting employment and practising.
In their submission to the Jackson Mandagor-led committee noted that the human resources policies and procedures manual for the Public Service May 2016, recognises the establishment, initiation and management of the internship programmes in Kenya.
“We demand that the relevant stakeholders provide a policy to ensure a seamless transition from learning institutions to internships without delay,” they said in their submission.
The 1,848 clinical interns were due to be posted in December but the union says despite there being a budget for the same, the fate of the interns remains unclear.
The ministry is supposed to post clinical officers interns on internship which is a legal provision for them and a prerequisite for them so that they can be able to be licensed to practice.
