Real life stories of Kenyan doctors in support of their strike for better wages and amenities
The real life stories I have picked up from facebook. Doctors are humans too. I have left the name there so that you can go to their walls and confirm these stories are from them.
Lilian Lilly Makelele Being a doctor is a profession... And expected to earn from it. If you read the terms of the proposed CBA, yes salary is part of it, but the working conditions and provisions of necessary facilities is the other... Why should a doctor go to hospital to watch patients die coz of lack of medication, basics, and machinery??? A doctor doesn't treat by being present in hospital, they can only do their work by provision of the necessary medication and medical equipment... #istandwiththedoctor.
I cannot put it any better..."A doctor doesn't treat by being present in hospital, they can only do their work by provision of the necessary medication adn medical equipment".
I have a close friend who also happens to be a dentist. I have known her from when she was still in college through to her graduation and start of her career. I watched her start from being a student in training to being posted to a district hospital. I watched her go through a lot of pain as a dentist which is why I support this strike. From lack of sterilizing chemicals, to lack of local anesthetic to lack of a dental chair for the dentists to use. It was not once she had to print and put up posters at KNH that they are not offering service because of lack of basic amenities...AT Kenyatta National Hospital!!!! Anyway, this post is not about her experience from me, let me share some stories I have picked up from some Kenyan doctors on social media. Let them do the talking. You make your own decision on which side you support.
Story # 1
Lilian Lilly Makelele Being a doctor is a profession... And expected to earn from it. If you read the terms of the proposed CBA, yes salary is part of it, but the working conditions and provisions of necessary facilities is the other... Why should a doctor go to hospital to watch patients die coz of lack of medication, basics, and machinery??? A doctor doesn't treat by being present in hospital, they can only do their work by provision of the necessary medication and medical equipment... #istandwiththedoctor.
I cannot put it any better..."A doctor doesn't treat by being present in hospital, they can only do their work by provision of the necessary medication adn medical equipment".
I have a close friend who also happens to be a dentist. I have known her from when she was still in college through to her graduation and start of her career. I watched her start from being a student in training to being posted to a district hospital. I watched her go through a lot of pain as a dentist which is why I support this strike. From lack of sterilizing chemicals, to lack of local anesthetic to lack of a dental chair for the dentists to use. It was not once she had to print and put up posters at KNH that they are not offering service because of lack of basic amenities...AT Kenyatta National Hospital!!!! Anyway, this post is not about her experience from me, let me share some stories I have picked up from some Kenyan doctors on social media. Let them do the talking. You make your own decision on which side you support.
Story # 1
Stikh Eff D'Swagg
December 7 at 8:25am · our pay we need our country back ......
Some say doctors aren't teachers why should the be paid ? We impact knowledge on our patients and likewise our students
Some say we don't earn like barbers ? I have shaved enough abdomens and nether regions to perform life saving surgeries ,I have shaved babies to resuscitate them...
Some say even tailors earn better? My stitches keep your organs where God intended them to be,...
Some say we can't even drive well? I can beat traffic get arrested by NTSA and still make it across the country to save lives
Some say our handwriting is crappy? Not all crappy handwritings belong to doctors not all doctors have a crappy handwriting
Some say it's a calling ? Yes but not a calling to poverty and misuse and discrimination
Some say we kill humans ? We are human and aren't immune to death , we have lost family members to cancer and disease don't you think we want to save them too
Some say we have neglected our duty? So operating a patient on the dark, how is it my duty to provide light , Mathare patients broke out ? How is it my duty to provide security ?
Some say we violated the Hippocratic oath? Have you read the oath ? Do you understand it .? Do you know working under deplorable conditions is directly against the oath ?
Some say doctors just want money ? So having money is a sin? The government spent 1 trillion on a railway and zero on healthcare ? Will u run the railway when you are sick ? Will the railway transport you or your relatives to state of the art health facility ?
Some say doctors don't care ? Yes we have been numbed by death but we also are living. Creatures we give free service to our family, our friends, strangers , etc most of the time we get a thank you and at least we can smile and face tomorrow
Some say MCAs deserve better pay than doctors ? I ask you what has your MCA done for you.... Can you call your MCA when your appendix bursts ?
Some say doctors are selfish ? I remember the day I began internship and was told today is the day your phone number ceases being yours... You will accept all calls regardless of the person calling and the time ? A life that can be saved should be saved.... We also desire a good car a good house some Jordan kicks ....to spoil our kids and our family
Some say doctors are just irresponsible and asking for too much ? So the government can misuse 1.5 trillion and still say doctors are arm twisting them for 8 billion ?
Some say we should be fired and replaced ? Go ahead let's see how many of you can afford a week in the private hospitals...
Some say even quacks are better ? Yes until the quack kills your relatives and can't afford to own up to the mistake
I support the strike and the reasons behind it
Even Jesus was crucified after he healed and raised people from the dead....
Next time you call upon a doctor remember
To leave one with a smile
To Kmpdu nothing less than 300%
To my fellow doctors .... Struggles are nothing new to us... Kazana nirvana Iko karibu
Some say doctors aren't teachers why should the be paid ? We impact knowledge on our patients and likewise our students
Some say we don't earn like barbers ? I have shaved enough abdomens and nether regions to perform life saving surgeries ,I have shaved babies to resuscitate them...
Some say even tailors earn better? My stitches keep your organs where God intended them to be,...
Some say we can't even drive well? I can beat traffic get arrested by NTSA and still make it across the country to save lives
Some say our handwriting is crappy? Not all crappy handwritings belong to doctors not all doctors have a crappy handwriting
Some say it's a calling ? Yes but not a calling to poverty and misuse and discrimination
Some say we kill humans ? We are human and aren't immune to death , we have lost family members to cancer and disease don't you think we want to save them too
Some say we have neglected our duty? So operating a patient on the dark, how is it my duty to provide light , Mathare patients broke out ? How is it my duty to provide security ?
Some say we violated the Hippocratic oath? Have you read the oath ? Do you understand it .? Do you know working under deplorable conditions is directly against the oath ?
Some say doctors just want money ? So having money is a sin? The government spent 1 trillion on a railway and zero on healthcare ? Will u run the railway when you are sick ? Will the railway transport you or your relatives to state of the art health facility ?
Some say doctors don't care ? Yes we have been numbed by death but we also are living. Creatures we give free service to our family, our friends, strangers , etc most of the time we get a thank you and at least we can smile and face tomorrow
Some say MCAs deserve better pay than doctors ? I ask you what has your MCA done for you.... Can you call your MCA when your appendix bursts ?
Some say doctors are selfish ? I remember the day I began internship and was told today is the day your phone number ceases being yours... You will accept all calls regardless of the person calling and the time ? A life that can be saved should be saved.... We also desire a good car a good house some Jordan kicks ....to spoil our kids and our family
Some say doctors are just irresponsible and asking for too much ? So the government can misuse 1.5 trillion and still say doctors are arm twisting them for 8 billion ?
Some say we should be fired and replaced ? Go ahead let's see how many of you can afford a week in the private hospitals...
Some say even quacks are better ? Yes until the quack kills your relatives and can't afford to own up to the mistake
I support the strike and the reasons behind it
Even Jesus was crucified after he healed and raised people from the dead....
Next time you call upon a doctor remember
To leave one with a smile
To Kmpdu nothing less than 300%
To my fellow doctors .... Struggles are nothing new to us... Kazana nirvana Iko karibu
Story # 2
My story, a young Doctor in public service
I was pregnant, year was 2013, unfortunately I had a very complicated pregnancy. Every 3 days I had to have an ultrasound done to ascertain my baby was alive...See, I was diagnosed with PET (pre,- eclamsia), a condition where one has very high blood pressure in pregnancy...My obgyn Dr. Simon Kigondu prescription entailed that I have bed rest most of the time.. What is bed rest to a Doctor? The whole time I was working in Maternity, "daktari kuna referal-reduced featal heat sound" "daktari kuna meconium grade ,3" " daktari kuna PET " "daktari kuna arrested second stage" " daktari kuna CPD"... "Nakuja" was my answer to all these calls..I thanked God that despite my complication, at least my child was alive...I remember one night I performed 7 caeserian sections..BY the end of the night, rather by morning, my feet were swollen, my BP 170/120mmHg...What pushed me, what made me go on and on was the faces of the mother's "daktari ubarikiwe", daktari Ahsante "'...
At 34 weeks my condition deteriorated, I remember I had just been on call. My doctor had to perform an emergency caeserian section, my baby was born prematurely at 1.68 kgs...
The same nursery I managed other premature babies was the same one my little champ was. This was not the end, I complicated further, I got PPH ( post partum hemorrhage), i.e. bleeding post delivery...There was no blood, my HB was 6, I couldn't stand, I couldn't go to the nursery to be with my baby till 72hrs later! I still never got blood for transfusion!,
I finally managed to recover albeit slowly, every 3 hrs I would go feed my champ, that is 8 times in 24hrs...Now, I don't remember ever giving Tj 100% attention, why? I was still managing the premature babies and those that had complicate. You want to ask if I was the only doctor, no I wasn't, however resuscitation could not wait for the covering doctor, a convulsion could not wait for the covering doctor whose hands were full either in the wards or casualty....
See, the perception that doctors are heartless holds no ground, that we'd rather watch our patients die is a lie..I have lost many patients, I have had to hold fathers my dad's age and comfort them! I've had to look at my mother's age mates to reassure them! I've had to break bad news to mother's who walked into the hospital with the hope of leaving with their bundle of joy only for them.to walk out empty handed!
On all these and most instances, I've locked myself in a room and screams my lungs out! So when you say I'm heartless, I wonder what the definition of heartless is!
Story # 3
I have four lovely children. They are in a regular private school. Actually, one of the cheapest in the area. I stay in a middle class estate along Mbagathi Way. I am your average middle class Kenyan having gone to school for 6 years, 1 year internship and another 4 years for my Masters programme. I have been working for the past 14 years. I am still paying rent. I have just received the school fees for term 1 2017 as attached. I am not asking to live in Runda. I may never be able to afford the international curriculum for my kids. I am not asking to go on international holidays. I am only asking that I may pay school fees and rent and perhaps, maybe put food on the table. Now, let me see if my kids' school will take my "I'm just a doctor, it's a calling so I cannot be paid market rates" in lieu of Ksh 276,100.
i remember the day I collapsed in theatre while performing a certain operation in Kitui District Hospital. It turned out I had a gynaecological emergency and with no medical cover at the time, I was admitted to the same hospital and the surgeon told me that he was reluctant to operate on me (being a colleague and all) so I was referred to KNH. Now luckily the ambulance (for once was operational) was heading to NBI and I "hitched" a ride in the front seat with the driver...mind you in all my agony! Reaching KNH, I waited with the rest on the queue to be attended to and finally had to "talk" to a gynae friend of mine to operate on me for "free". I still ended up paying the hospital charges for the admission and theatre after rallying my family to "changa" for me. The irony of it all was that I collapsed while performing the same operation I underwent. That is the day I drafted my resignation letter and dropped it myself to our "dear" DMS (name withheld)! So now you perform essential servcies and you cannot even afford to pay for those essential services when you need them most! Aluta continua!
Facts about the doctors' strike (don't let the government or media or paid bloggers fool you):
1) 2011 December, the doctors' union (KMPDU) called for a strike citing various challenges in the health sector including but not limited to the working conditions of doctors.
2) 2011 December a committee was formed chaired by the then Minister for Finance (now our president Uhuru Kenyatta). It was agreed that their grievances were valid. Some concessions were given in the Return to Work Formula with the promise that further discussions between various sectors (Ministry of Health, Public Service Commission, Salary review commission and the union) would work out a longer term plan that will address human resource issues in the health sector particularly touching on doctors.
3) After long drawn out discussions in 2013 June, a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) was signed by the then PS for Health (Mr Mark Bor) and the union that discussed amongst others, how doctors were graded in the public service scheme, promotions, training, disciplinary actions, grievances, transfers between counties and central government, research fund for enhancing medicine, postgraduate training, internship postings, working hours for doctors etc. It actions nelson provided a scheme of service that was a revision of the current one that dates 1994!
4) Under the labour laws, it is the responsibility of the employer (in this case the Ministry of Health) to file the CBA with the Industrial court for implementation.
5) Since 2013, the union has been given the run around by the Ministry of Health regarding them implementation of the legally binding document. The SRC was mandated to advise the Ministry of Health on the proposed salaries from the union. They have never done so. The union also wrote to the Labour Ministry citing the above matters but no response was received.
The Public Service Commission in May 2016 also approved the much needed Scheme of Service for doctors. The Ministry of health to date has never gazetted it.
The CoG went went to court to render the strike illegal. The ruling of this second court bears no weight as the constitution of Kenya protects and gives the right to go on strike once due process process is followed.
6) After much frustration, the union went to court in 2015. One year later October 2016, the court issued a ruling upholding the legality of the CBA. Apparently, the Ministry of health were denying that they were party to it. The court ordered the concerned parties to iron out the contentious issues within 30 days. After the days elapsed without any progress, the SRC requested for an additional 15 days which were granted. The discussions were not held.
7) In November 2016, the union, under the protection of the constitution (which is above all laws) filed a 21 day notice for a countrywide strike. The notice ended on 4th December 2016. The strike commenced on 5th December 2016 affecting all public health institutions and supported by all doctors irrespective of their work stations.
1) 2011 December, the doctors' union (KMPDU) called for a strike citing various challenges in the health sector including but not limited to the working conditions of doctors.
2) 2011 December a committee was formed chaired by the then Minister for Finance (now our president Uhuru Kenyatta). It was agreed that their grievances were valid. Some concessions were given in the Return to Work Formula with the promise that further discussions between various sectors (Ministry of Health, Public Service Commission, Salary review commission and the union) would work out a longer term plan that will address human resource issues in the health sector particularly touching on doctors.
3) After long drawn out discussions in 2013 June, a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) was signed by the then PS for Health (Mr Mark Bor) and the union that discussed amongst others, how doctors were graded in the public service scheme, promotions, training, disciplinary actions, grievances, transfers between counties and central government, research fund for enhancing medicine, postgraduate training, internship postings, working hours for doctors etc. It actions nelson provided a scheme of service that was a revision of the current one that dates 1994!
4) Under the labour laws, it is the responsibility of the employer (in this case the Ministry of Health) to file the CBA with the Industrial court for implementation.
5) Since 2013, the union has been given the run around by the Ministry of Health regarding them implementation of the legally binding document. The SRC was mandated to advise the Ministry of Health on the proposed salaries from the union. They have never done so. The union also wrote to the Labour Ministry citing the above matters but no response was received.
The Public Service Commission in May 2016 also approved the much needed Scheme of Service for doctors. The Ministry of health to date has never gazetted it.
The CoG went went to court to render the strike illegal. The ruling of this second court bears no weight as the constitution of Kenya protects and gives the right to go on strike once due process process is followed.
6) After much frustration, the union went to court in 2015. One year later October 2016, the court issued a ruling upholding the legality of the CBA. Apparently, the Ministry of health were denying that they were party to it. The court ordered the concerned parties to iron out the contentious issues within 30 days. After the days elapsed without any progress, the SRC requested for an additional 15 days which were granted. The discussions were not held.
7) In November 2016, the union, under the protection of the constitution (which is above all laws) filed a 21 day notice for a countrywide strike. The notice ended on 4th December 2016. The strike commenced on 5th December 2016 affecting all public health institutions and supported by all doctors irrespective of their work stations.
Feel free to share any more stories which you or your friends have shared online. Cheers.
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