The county governments lack the capacity to sustain doctors, members of parliament opine. The lawmakers want the doctors paid by the national government even as they work at the county hospital.
Led by Seme MP James Nyikal, the leaders believe that the county governments do not have what it takes to cater to the needs of doctors at health facilities within their jurisdiction.
Nyikal said that most of the doctors are not going back to the court where they studied, which makes it hard for them to benefit from their skills at the end of the day.
“Why would a county continue paying the doctor when it is not guaranteed that the doctor will go back to work in the same county once he is done with studies?” posed Dr Nyikal, as quoted by Standard.
He noted that the county doctor will continue to suffer as long as the national government doesn’t step in to assist them in the settlement of their salaries at the county level.
Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) are two major facilities that offer residence to the county doctors. It has also emerged that most of the doctors are students because of the shortage of their numbers as a result of the ever-growing population.