KMPDU demands closure of 13 Kiambu hospitals as doctors’ strike hits day 71

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has demanded the immediate shutdown of 13 hospitals in Kiambu County, citing a worsening healthcare crisis as the doctors’ strike in the devolved unit enters its 71st day.

In a letter addressed to Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and the CEO of the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), Dr. David Kariuki, KMPDU Secretary General Dr. Davji Atellah warned that patient lives are at “imminent risk” due to the absence of qualified consultants in key health facilities.

According to Dr. Atellah, intern doctors in these hospitals are also unable to undergo the mandatory assessments critical for their training, while newly hired contract doctors say they cannot function effectively under the current conditions.

“This has compromised the quality of care and placed the lives of patients at imminent risk,” the doctors’ union boss told CS Duale and Dr. Kariuki.

The union is now calling on the Health ministry and KMPDC to act “urgently and decisively” to safeguard both patient welfare and the standards of medical training in the country.

The hospitals that KMPDU wants closed are: Kiambu Level V, Thika Level V, Gatundu Level V, Tigoni Level IV, Ruiru Level IV, Igegania Level IV, Kihara Level IV.

The others are: Luseggeti Level IV, Karuri Level IV, Gachororo Level IV, Githunguri Level IV, Wangige Level IV, and Lari Level IV.

This comes as Medical Officer Interns (MOIs) at the Gatundu Level V Hospital downed their tools amid the ongoing doctors’ strike in Kiambu County, citing unsafe working conditions and lack of supervision.

In a letter addressed to the Medical Superintendent and Internship Coordinator at the facility, the interns say they have been left without senior doctors in critical departments, making it impossible to proceed with their training or ensure patient safety.

The interns, who began their rotations on July 15, 2025, report that they had been posted across Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, and Internal Medicine.

While they tried to soldier on for two weeks under “challenging conditions,” they now say the situation has become untenable.

“We have unanimously agreed to down our tools immediately until when the strike is over officially,” read the statement.

They are demanding that the time already spent be fully recognized in their internship logbooks and evaluated in accordance with KMPDC guidelines.

The interns further recommend that those who had been temporarily redistributed from Surgery to other departments be allowed to complete their rotations there before returning, to avoid disrupting timelines.

The group has now resolved to complete their four core rotations—ending with Psychiatry—once services resume.

The interns also flagged infrastructural and operational issues at the facility, which they want addressed before they return to work.

Medical officers at the Ruiru Level IV Hospital, in a separate letter also seen by Citizen Digital, also raised alarm over what they term as “serious risk to patient safety” in the hospital’s surgical wing due to the continued absence of specialist consultants.

In the letter addressed to the Kiambu County Chief Officer for Health Services, the newly posted doctors express gratitude for their appointments but warned that the lack of a second-on-call consultant during surgical procedures has left them dangerously exposed—both clinically and legally.

They described situations that they say highlight the gravity of this concern, noting that on June 2, a patient developed intraoperative complications without a consultant present.

They added that, on June 13, a similar incident occurred again without the support of a senior surgeon, while on June 16, a patient nearly lost their life in theater due to complications that required immediate specialist intervention.

“These situations have not only placed patients at risk but have also exposed us as newly appointed officers to undue medico-legal and professional liability,” the letter reads.

As a result, the officers are now requesting an immediate suspension of all operative theatre procedures until consultant support is reliably available.

However, they’ve pledged to continue serving in all other departments—including Maternity, Pediatrics, Medical Wards, the Newborn Unit, and Outpatient services.

This development adds to the pressure on the Ministry of Health and KMPDC, who are already facing calls from KMPDU to shut down 13 hospitals across the county, including Gatundu Level V and Ruiru Level IV, until the strike—now on day 71—is resolved.