Egerton University Medical Students Association (EUMEDSA) Vice President Ben Mokaya has criticised the county government and the council of governors for interfering with healthcare system in the county.
Allegedly, this has led to increased strike cases among health workers.
Mokaya said that the interference by county governments in the health affairs was delaying salaries for hospital workers which is affecting services delivery.
“A three-month delay in salaries has put county operations in limbo. Some counties are forced to use their savings or get overdrafts to pay staff to stop the situation from escalating,” Mokaya said.
Mokaya has appealed to the medical practitioners saying they should table their issues at a roundtable meeting.
He proposed that the health bill should be redrafted so that it recognises the two levels of government.
Mokaya was speaking to the press on Wednesday where he said that devolution of the health sector had seen confusion reign.
”Doctors have been on strike since last week to protest the transfer of their payroll from the national government to the county government,” he said.
Mokaya pointed out that all doctors need is the national government to continue paying them until a proper legal regime is put in place for a structured devolution of their services, something the national government has not done.
“I also feel that a health commission needs to be established to handle employment, emolument and other matters related to the doctors’ welfare. The multi-disciplinary team should not only facilitate the necessary regime, but also to ensure that laws enacted are friendly to health workers,” added Mokaya.
According to Mokaya, the county governments are running the health services in utter confusion, poor coordination and it is difficult to know who is responsible for what.