Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe on Friday told striking health workers that they risk losing their jobs if they do not return to work.
Kagwe, however, said amicable solutions to the strikers’ grievances are being sought but in the meantime they have to serve Kenyans, especially during this time marked by festivities.
He praised the courts for suspending the strike to make room for dialogue, noting that the government has continually engaged health workers’ unions over their plight.
Some of the issues they have raised are legitimate and the government has put in place measures to ensure they are resolved, the CS said. He cited personal protective equipment, saying it has been supplied to all private and public health facilities.
“And that is why we are asking all striking health workers to go back to their workstations and avoid being a statistic of the people who will be looking for jobs come January,” Kagwe urged.
He spoke while launching Santamore Surgical Hospital in Kenol town, Murang’a. The facility has been established by five doctors. It will offer orthopedic, spine, general, laparoscopic, obstetric and gynecology, and ear, nose and throat surgery.
Kagwe said the facility located at the gateway of the Mt Kenya region will cater to the high number of victims of road accidents.
“This is a good case of the private sector identifying an opportunity and running with it. Numerous deaths and paralysis arising from accidents would not occur if the victims received urgent emergency care,” he said.
Such hospitals complement the services given by public facilities and are vital to the healthcare ecosystem, Kagwe added.
He said the hospital will have a tremendous impact on the lives of residents and lauded the doctors for expressing confidence to invest in the health sector.
“We appreciate the many healthcare workers that are working on the frontline of the Covid-19 [war] and we do not take their work for granted.”
The government plans to promote medical tourism, hence the CS urged medics to create a paradigm shift that will see patients stop travelling to foreign countries for medical care.
Kagwe said the government is registering poor Kenyans for free under the NHIF scheme to ensure they access quality healthcare. He appealed to Kenyans to protect themselves from Covid-19 by strictly observing safety protocols.
He especially underscored the need to avoid shaking hands, calling for the emulation of members of the Akurino sect who do not shake hands out of religious conviction.
“There is a need for concerted efforts to come up with realistic ways of mitigating the effects of Covid-19,” Kagwe said.