Pumwani strike takes heavy toll on patients
Patients at Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi were left unattended on Monday as a go-slow by nurses entered its seventh day.
On Monday last week, relatives of a woman who delivered a baby who died soon after birth, accosted some nurses demanding to know the cause of the infant’s death.
The 186 health workers are yet to clear their names following an incident in January in which a family claims their newborn twins were stolen at the facility, but were registered as stillbirths.
TWINS SAGA
According to a Kenya National Union of Nurses official, Mr Lenpike Mutunga Kioko, the twins’ saga, in addition to loss of public confidence, caused the strike.
The Nairobi County Government, however, denies knowledge of the strike.
In an advert on Sunday, the county government said that the strike had been called off, and vowed to punish workers who abscond from duty.
But a spot check on Monday revealed patients were not attended to.
“We arrived here at 8am but we were not served even after paying Sh50,” the father of a four-year-old boy scheduled to attend clinic, Mr Stanley Mutunga, said.
Several other parents could be seen cuddling their infants as expectant mothers walked into the hospital, only to leave afterwards dejected.
CONFRONTATION
Meanwhile, the striking nurses who were meeting their union officials at the hospital were confronted by county askaris.
Although none of them was injured after a fist fight ensured, the nurses went to Shauri Moyo Police Station where they recorded statements.
“We do not intend to end the sit-in, and, in fact, we are considering enlisting all nurses in Nairobi County in this crusade for our demands,” Mr Kioko said by telephone.