Eldoret: The health staff unions, namely the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers, Kenya National Union of Nurses, and Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), have called off their planned strike, which was scheduled to begin this week. Despite this, the medics have issued a warning that they will proceed with the strike after 12 days if their grievances are not addressed.
According to Kenya News Agency, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the nurses and the management of MTRH, in Eldoret. The MTRH CEO, Dr. Philip Kirwa, stated that the hospital is awaiting an allocation from the Ministry of Finance to prevent the paralysis of health services. He highlighted the importance of the Social Health Authority’s (SHA) allocation, which accounts for 80 percent of the hospital’s income.
Dr. Kirwa elaborated that most of the hospital’s revenue is derived from SHA, with cash payments being relatively low. However, the hospital maintains corporate clients who utilize the private wing, contributing to 20 percent of the income. He emphasized that remittances from SHA are crucial in addressing the hospital’s financial challenges, including delays in nurses’ salaries and pensions.
Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital Clinical Officer and Kenya Union of Clinical Officers branch secretary, Wamalwa Siminyu Xavier, cautioned the hospital’s management about the potential strike. He stated that the union will closely monitor the implementation of their demands and will reactivate the strike notice if they believe their concerns are not being adequately addressed.
