- The nurses want Muturi and Wanami to issue an apology for what they termed as demeaning the nursing profession.
- They further called for the withdrawal of the ‘reckless’ statement and a genuine engagement with the board of KUTRRH to support the health systems at the institution.
Image: FILE
Nurses and midwives on Friday tabled five demands which they said will be key in ensuring the nursing profession in the country is respected and protected.
Speaking in Nairobi, on Friday, they vowed to protect their profession from any demeanor.
Their sentiments come after the Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education led by Bumula MP Wamboka Wanami on Wednesday questioned why Ahmed Dagane is the Kenyatta University Teaching Referral and Research Hospital CEO yet he is a nurse.
In a joint statement, they are demanding that the National Assembly move with speed and amend the Health Act 2017 to conform with the court ruling that allowed nurses to lead the national referral hospitals.
In a ruling by high court judge Weldon Korir in September 2021, it was declared that sections of the Act were discriminatory to the other cadres and hence were null and void.
The Kenya National Union of Nurses and the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya had moved to court to challenge the provisions of the act.
The Attorney General, the Ministry of Health, the National Assembly, and the Senate were listed as respondents.
“We ask Parliament to move with speed and amend the Health Act 2017 so that it conforms with this judgment as well as the Constitution of Kenya otherwise I want to amplify that anybody who will profile, demean and embarrass nurses we will profile you and your families,” KNUN SG Seth Panyako said.
Attorney General Justin Muturi, who was also before the committee, told members the requirement is that the CEO should be a medical doctor.
Dagane is a holder of a degree in nursing and has a master's degree in Business Administration.
But the nurses say Muturi relying on the provisions of the law which has been quashed by the High Court.
“You can’t be the AG of the country and you don’t know judgments that have been given that affect the management of the country,” Panyako said.
In the demands read by the National Nurses Association of Kenya President Collins Otieno, the nurses want Muturi and Wanami to issue an apology for what they termed as demeaning the nursing profession.
They further called for the withdrawal of the ‘reckless’ statement and a genuine engagement with the board of KUTRRH to support the health systems at the institution.
“The occurrence aimed at sacking the CEO because he is a nurse and not a doctor is not only a shame and loss to the individual CEO but also all nurses in Kenya and globally,” Otieno said.
They also want the vital role played by nurses and midwives in the healthcare delivery system in the country to be recognised.
In addition, they demanded to be involved in all decision-making affecting healthcare at all levels in all organisations and policy-making bodies.
They said that if left to stand, the decision would be used as a benchmark for any other future high-level appointments at the national, county government, and private institutions as well as inform revocation of the existing appointments.
The unions threatened to take drastic measures including going on strike should Dagane be ousted from office.