Kenyan doctors warn of walkout over mounting workload amid nurses' strike
Kenyan doctors have said they may join the ongoing nurses' strike, citing overwhelming workloads as hospitals cope with reduced staff.
Doctors in Kenya announced they may walk out in support of nurses who have been on strike for six weeks, arguing that the added workload is unsustainable. Union secretary-general Davji Bhimji Atellah said doctors are already scarce and are being asked to perform nursing tasks, threatening patient care. The nurses' protest centers on the failure to enact a 2017 collective bargaining agreement, which the government attributes to budget shortfalls.
Hundreds of nurses marched to the Council of Governors' office, where the council and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission were to meet on remuneration issues. The doctors' union gave the government a seven-day deadline to resolve the nurses' demands, or it will issue a strike notice. Meanwhile, the Senate discussed shutting down hospital dispensaries in some counties, and a senator from Nandi County linked rising deaths to the ongoing crisis.
Why it matters
A doctors' walkout would further strain Kenya's already overburdened health system and affect patient care nationwide.
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