Tharaka Nithi Nurses to Resume Duty Thursday Despite the Nationwide Strike

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Tharaka Nithi Nurses to Resume Duty Thursday Despite the Nationwide Strike.
Nurses in Tharaka Nithi County will resume work on Thursday after the county branch of the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) directed its members to return to duty in compliance with an active court order, even as the nationwide nurses' strike remains in force.
Why a strike ends in one county and continues elsewhere
Health is a devolved function, so nurses are employed by 47 different county governments while national unions bargain over pay and terms. That is why industrial action fragments. A county branch can be ordered back to work by a court, or reach its own settlement, while the national dispute stays live.
The recurring issues are the same everywhere: collective bargaining agreements signed and not implemented, promotions frozen, risk and uniform allowances unpaid, staff hired on short contracts, and salary delays.
What it means for patients
During strikes the load shifts to the facilities still open, usually the larger referral hospitals and private and faith based clinics. Waiting times rise, maternity and emergency cases are triaged first, and outpatient clinics for chronic conditions are the first to be dropped. People who need continuing treatment for hypertension, diabetes, HIV or tuberculosis are the group most quietly harmed.
If you are on continuing medication, collect your refill before your usual clinic day and carry your treatment card with you.
The Kibra angle
In this ward the fallback for a closed dispensary is a chemist or a private clinic, and both cost money that many households do not have on the day. KNN keeps a directory of facilities in and around Kibra, including which handle maternity, which open at night and which accept the national insurance cover.
Registration for that cover is what decides whether a strike is an inconvenience or a crisis for a household.
What we are watching
Whether the national dispute is settled or referred, which Nairobi facilities are affected, and what the county says about staffing at the health centres serving Kibra.

This story was put together by K N N from material first published by AllAfrica News: Kenya.
That was a Kibra News Network report, read by an A I voice.