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Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives from various hospitals across the country converged in Nairobi for a strike. [Wilberforce Okwiri,Standard]
At least 11 patients have died at Nakuru Level Five Hospital in the past 24 hours as the nurses’ strike cripple health services across public facilities.
The reported deaths include three neonates at the Newborn Unit, five adults in medical wards and three children in the paediatric ward. An official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the situation has become so desperate that the post-Caesarean section and postnatal wards have been combined because locum nurses brought in to keep the hospital running are unable to cope with the workload.
The claims come against a disturbing national tally of deaths linked to the prolonged disruption of healthcare services. Between Monday and Wednesday this week alone, eight maternal, 16 neonatal and 55 perinatal deaths have been recorded. The nurses’ strike, which began on July 29, has now entered its second month, leaving public hospitals struggling.
