MoH cautions medical interns » Capital News
KISUMU, Kenya, Apr 4 — The Ministry of Health has warned medical interns who fail to collect offer letters could risk missing out on placement in government-run hospitals by June.
Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni told news reporters in Kisumu that the Ministry will be forced to return Sh2.4 billion allocated for the placement of medical interns if it fails to absorb the budget.
“The government has gone ahead to release the money, which if it gets to June will go back to the treasury, so who loses,” she said on Thursday.
Muthoni’s caution came hours after the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists Dentists Union (KMPDU) said the offer letters “won’t [be] picked” terming negotiations led by Head of Public Service Felix Koskei as flawed.
The Union insisted on a Sh150,000 minimum pay terming the government offer of Sh45,000 to Sh70,000 unacceptable.
Muthoni however said the government remained committed to ending the doctors’ strike triggered by the stalemate over the posting of medical returns, a prerequisite for certification of graduate doctors.
Muthoni called for a roundtable meeting between the government and the Union to address the sticking issues amicably.
Speaking during a summit on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) implementation, Muthoni said the government cannot address all the issues raised by the doctors at once, adding they date back to 2017 hence the need for time.
“We need to sit down and deliberate, at least the government has the goodwill,” she said.
She noted the government has recruited 107,000 Community Health Promoters (CHPs) across the country to push preventive and promotive healthcare.
Muthoni said CHPs had so far screened 2.26 million individuals for diabetes, 1.56 million for hypertension, and referred 41,000 individuals to health facilities for diabetes and 96, 000 for hypertension.
She termed the CHP initiative as key to reducing the disease burden in households, consequently addressing congestion in hospitals.
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