A section of Garissa Referral Hospital. The nurses at the facility have reported to work. ( Photo/ the-star.co.ke)
Residents of Garissa have been handed a reprieve after more than 100 nurses at the Garissa Referral Hospital reported to their places of work following the calling off of the long strike. According to the Star, operations at the facility have returned to normalcy after the nurses agreed to report to their different wings in readiness to save lives. A spot check indicated that there are several patients who reported at the health facility seeking for medication following the decision of the nurses union to call off the strike. The hospital serves different counties including Wajir, Mandera and Kitui. The 158 nurses joined their counterparts from other facilities in the strike, which has led to suffering and deaths of many Kenyans after services were paralyzed in most wings of the health center.Abdi Omar, a patient at the hospital, lamented the nurses strike had made life unbearable since private facilities are too expensive for the common mwananchi to get treatment. He also said that he is happy after the nurses resumed work.“I thank God the nurses’ strike is over. I have suffered a lot. I couldn’t get treatment because private hospitals are very expensive,” Omar said, as quoted by The Star. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a nurse at the facility said that they had been given a raw deal following the end of the strike.