Youth pelt striking Meru health workers with stones

A group of youth Monday pelted striking health workers from public hospitals in Meru County with stones outside the county headquarters in Meru Town.

The nurses had marched there seeking audience with Governor Peter Munya over a grievance regarding their promotions.

Police lobbed teargas canisters to disperse the youths, who were armed with stones and other weapons.

The workers were led by Kenya National Union of Nurses (Knun) Meru Branch chairman Mugambi Bakari, secretary Nesbitt Mugendi and Association of Public Health Workers representative Samuel Michere.

They were denied entry into the county offices and also Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital.

“We are yet to get our demands addressed,” said Mr Bakari.

“Since we have been attacked by goons, we will stay at home until Monday next week.”

Efforts by County Secretary Julius Kimathi to convince the health workers to go back to work as they await the promotions were unsuccessful.

Tigania East Member of Parliament Mpuru Aburi and his Tigania West counterpart David Karithi separately addressed the health workers before the gathering was disrupted by the youth.

MP CONDEMNS COUNTY

Mr Aburi condemned the county for what he said was failure to address the workers’ grievances while Mr Karithi urged the staff to be patient as the county government finds a solution to the stalemate.

The strike entered the second week Monday.

As a result, the Isiolo County Referral Hospital has been overstretched as patients now seek treatment there, with some departments surpassing the numbers they are supposed to handle.

On Friday, the hospital received 16 psychiatric patients from Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital but admitted only seven of them. The other nine were sent to Nyeri Level Five Hospital, about 120 kilometres away.

The Isiolo hospital has a capacity of only 154 patients and all its beds were occupied.

A similar situation prevailed at St Theresa’s Mission Hospital, Kiirua, near Meru Town.

The outpatient unit and wards were full as the institution’s staff tried to ensure all of them were attended to.

The hospital’s deputy administrator, Mr Morris Kaumbuthu, said since the industrial action by health workers began, they had been receiving many patients.

There were no patients at the Meru hospital.