The Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentist (KMPDU) has called on its members to boycott the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) after one of their colleagues was suspended over a brain surgery mix-up.
According to KMPDU Secretary General Dr Ouma Oluga, the mix-up would not have occurred if the currently striking supervisors were on duty.
The move by KMPDU to have all medics down tools at the hospital is a good move in ensuring that East and Central Africa’s arguably largest referral hospital regains its glorious image that has since been dented over several sagas in the recent past.
In January, reports making rounds on social media alleged that mothers were being raped at the hospital when making trips to breast feed their newly born babies. However, suspended KNH CEO Lily Koros and former Health CS Cleopa Mailu defended KNH against such allegations.
Last month, KNH made headlines for the wrong reasons again when a twin baby was stolen from the health facility. This left Kenyans grappling with the security state of the hospital.
The brain surgery mix-up a couple of days ago added salt to injury. KNH could not explain how a 'wrong' patient was wheeled into theatre and a head surgery performed.
Despite calls from the public for an elaborate explanation on what has since transpired in the hospital over the recent past, KNH has remained evasive in its responses. The CEO and the Health Ministry have only defended the health facility for any wrongdoing and the over 100 day doctors' strike in 2017 has not helped streamline strategic and systematic issues at KNH.
If regaining the health facility calls for sacrifices, then Kenyans should brace themselves and help sort the mess at KNH. The medics should in fact prolong their strike until the whole management of KNH is streamlined.
The medics should ensure all departments in the health facility are functional and help stop the hospital's failures being reported in the media every now and then.
The government should step in and sort out the mess at the hospital. Proper funding should be channeled to KNH and security beefed up to offer patients better services.
KMPDU should also weed out medics who deliberately fail to follow the required protocol in serving patients as this will prevent losses similar to that of the twin baby.