KMPDU Secretary-General Davji Atellah addresses the press outside Nairobi Hospital on December 10, 2024. PHOTO | COURTESY
Doctors at Nairobi Hospital on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, issued a 7-day strike notice following allegations of mistreatment and financial concerns.
According to the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU), medical professionals at Nairobi Hospital report enduring an unbearable working environment characterized by mistreatment, harassment, and constant fear of job termination.
Addressing the press, KMPDU Secretary-General Davji Atellah denounced the hospital for perpetuating poor working conditions, which have led to the resignation of some healthcare workers, while others remain coerced to avoid victimization.
“The Nairobi Hospital management has continued to harass and mistreat our members, reducing their medical cover in the name of financial constraints, while stories of financial mismanagement spread along the corridors. The sweat of hardworking health workers is being enjoyed by a few people who have become overnight millionaires,” said Mr. Atellah.
A pressing concern raised was the reduction of medical benefits for staff, justified under the guise of financial constraints. The KMPDU is advocating for immediate intervention to safeguard the welfare of medical practitioners, insisting that such working conditions not only compromise the well-being of staff but also strain the quality of patient care.
The union has given the facility seven days to address the concerns raised by medics, failing which it will mobilize its members to down their tools.
KMPDU also alleged that the chairperson of Nairobi Hospital’s Board interfered with an AGM meeting held on December 4, 2024, in which bona fide members had planned to impeach the management in a bid to rescue the facility.
“Doctors and distinguished members of this once-great hospital were abused in broad daylight when the disgraceful and rogue board chairman and his stooges hired goons to pose as bona fide KHA members, mishandling and beating up the real members who were keen to impeach the management and rescue the hospital from imminent collapse,” said the union.
The KMPDU has now called on members of the Kenya Hospital Association, the Admitting Staff Association, staff of Nairobi Hospital, and other government agencies to rise up and “save the facility of choice from imminent closure and collapse.”
