2 Kisumu legislators urge govt to address plight of doctors » Capital News

KISUMU, Kenya, Mar 14 – Two legislators have called on the Kenya Kwanza Government to address the plight of doctors and stop the sufferings of patients.

Kisumu Central MP Joshua Oron and his counterpart Kisumu County Woman Representative Ruth Odinga say the ongoing strike is affecting Kenyans.

Oron, who sits in the health committee in the National Assembly says the government has the ability to address the grievances being raised by the doctors.

“I want to appeal to the government to look at the doctors’ strike immediately,” he said.

He noted that the government should prioritize health matters in the country by allocating enough resources to its personnel.

He says much money is being spent on areas which are less important to Kenyans while health issues are being neglected.

“Unhealthy country is a very poor country, this should be a priority for this government,” he said.

Speaking in his constituency on Thursday when they opened a girl’s dormitory at St Theresa Girls Secondary school built through the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) at Sh14 million, Oron says health is a human right for every Kenyan.

Odinga on her side castigated the government for the attack meted recently on the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) officials who are agitating for their rights.

“Kenya Kwanza Government must be sensitive to the people, we have freedoms of speech and expressions, stop this harassment,” he said.

Odinga says Kenyans need doctors for their healthcare and challenged the government to cut costs on local and international travels to fund the sector.

Oron further asked the government to move with speed and address the stalemate between private hospitals and the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).

“NHIF is not paying private hospitals and soon they are going to start not receiving the insurance holders,” he said.

He says the private hospitals have issued a six days’ notice to the government and called upon the latter not to wait but forestall the impending strike.

“It will be a double tragedy for Kenyans if private hospitals make good their threat, it’s time for the government to work on modalities to start remitting payments to the private hospitals,” he said.

The KMPDU strike that started on Thursday midnight showed many patients not being attended to in the public health facilities in Nyanza region.

The regional KMPDU representative Steve Ndoga says they will not back down until the government commits to addressing their plight.

 A spot check on most public hospitals in the lakeside city of Kisumu revealed patients still in the wards but no attendance by the doctors.

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