Nairobi Nurses threaten strike to demand safety at work

Following the assault of two medics  at Mama Lucy Hospital, Nairobi nurses have threatened to go strike to demand dignity and safety at work.

Kenya National Union of Nurses Nairobi branch chairman Boaz Onchari said that they were ready to return to the streets and protest insecurity at work.

“We were the first county to sign a deal with Governor Mike Sonko and returned to work to serve patients,” Onchari said.

The incident happened at around 2am, victim Christian Nyabera said.

The matter was reported at Soweto police station. Embakasi deputy county commissioner Kenneth Gitonga said police have arrested two of the three suspects.

Nurses demonstrate outside City Hall on February 5 /EZEKIEL AMING’A

They will be taken to court today.

The suspect on the run is said to have been a patient brought in by those in custody.

“I want to reassure staff that we are doing everything possible to make sure they perform their duties without any interference,” Gitonga said.

He said detectives have recorded statements from witnesses and were gathering more evidence.

Nyabera said the attackers brought in a patient who had deep cuts on his left cheek and other cuts on the right cheek.

“They did not want to follow procedure and demanded to be served first even though we had administered first aid to the patient,” Nyabera said.

The nurses had scores of patients waiting to be attended to. Nyabera suffered bruises while her colleague, George Mwangi, had a broken wrist.

Hospital boss Musa Muhammed said they will change security strategy. “We’ll have direct and indirect security in the hospital,” Muhammed said.

Gitonga said uniformed and plainclothes officers will be deployed at the hospital.

On December 5, Pamela Akinyi, 40, was charged with causing grievous harm to a nurse at Kenyatta National Hospital after her child died while undergoing treatment. Akinyi was accused of attacking and seriously injuring Mildred Akinyi on October 13.

She allegedly attacked Mildred, claiming nurses at KNH failed to transfuse blood to save her 17-year-old son’s life. The boy died of leukemia-related complications the previous night.

The nurse had left a ward to fetch warm water for a patient when she met Akinyi with five other women and a man at the nurses’ reception. She directed her to the welfare office for assistance but was attacked. The nurse was rescued by colleagues and the hospital’s security and rushed to an emergency room and admitted.

Akinyi denied the charges before senior resident magistrate Caroline Nzimbe.

She was released on a bond of Sh100,000 or Sh50,000 bail.

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