Doctors Tell Off Health CS Over Ksh200K To Interns

Wafula was responding to a question by a concerned trainee who pointed out a memo released by the ministry freezing training for the 2022/23 financial year.

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Nov 3, 2022 - 13:18
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Doctors Tell Off Health CS Over Ksh200K To Interns
Newly appointed CS for Health Susan Nakhumicha being grilled by the National Assembly vetting committee. /FILE

Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Susan Nakhumicha Wafula has come under fire owing to her remarks that there were interns within the Ministry that earned more than the doctors in the country.

Former Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) secretary general Chibanzi Mwachonda joined a series of doctors who refuted her statements on Citizen TV that interns earned Ksh200,000 as compared to doctors who earned Ksh104,000.

Mwachonda on Thursday, November 3 shamed Wafula for uttering false statements on live television, with millions of pairs of eyes across the whole country that watched the previous night.

He added that state officers in top dockets should have been briefed first on matters concerning their docket before making misleading comments.

Former KMPDU SG Chibanzi Mwachonda addresses the press at a Nairobi Hotel on February 13, 2021. /THE STAR

"It is imperative for high-ranking state officers to be well briefed on matters before making false pronouncements with far-reaching effects out of ignorance. 

"Doctors are just one block of the entire health system. Clearly, Madam CS has a lot to learn and her work is cut out," he wrote in part.

His successor, Dr Davji Atellah, said in support of him that the comments were false, noting that interns were actually the lowest paid out of being in the lowest in the job hierarchy.

“The remuneration that was stated is not factual. Interns are the lowest, they are under the lowest job group (L). This is per a CBA in 2017,” Dr Atellah told Citizen Digital.

The Secretary-General also revealed that he is in possession of an October 25, 2022 memo from the National Treasury that informed Heads of Departments on freezing of training budget in realignments of the 2022/2023 financial budget. 

This, Dr Atellah said, should not affect medical trainees as it is unconstitutional and could ignite a health crisis in the country.

“In any way that circular affects the post-graduate doctors' training, then it will be contravening the Constitution and the role of MOH,” he said. 

Dr Atellah added that more than 600 medical officers, including pharmacists and dentists who graduated more than six months ago, are yet to be deployed to health institutions, further adding that 60 per cent of doctors who graduated within the last five years are yet to be employed.

He added that hospitals are unequipped, meaning interns end up being allocated the majority of tasks in the facilities.

“Hospitals have inadequate consultants. Interns end up doing all the jobs in those facilities, something which is not recommended,” he said.

Dr Atellah called for more engagements among stakeholders, the Ministry and County governments to address dysfunctionality in the health sector, adding that the union is open to engaging with all players to ensure that it works properly.

“We are willing to engage and work with the CS to ensure there is a functional healthcare system that is not only structure based but also has an adequate workforce. We will have a social dialogue on the issues that are derailing healthcare,” Dr Atellah said. 

Wafula had uncovered the inconsistencies in the remuneration of allowances and health, which she felt needed to be addressed urgently.

“In one of my looking around within the ministry, I found that Kenya is a country where interns earn more than actual doctors when they are deployed,” she stated.

“For example, a medical intern earns close to Ksh200,000 while a new doctor while reporting in a public hospital earns Ksh104,000. These inconsistencies in there are issues to be addressed,” she added. 

Wafula was responding to a question by a concerned trainee who pointed out a memo released by the ministry freezing training for the 2022/23 financial year.

Viral Tea contacted a source within the medical profession who recalled that interns were previously paid Ksh150,000, but did not provide details on the pay as of now.

Doctors by the time of publishing had taken over Twitter trends in Kenya, with #SomebodyTellHealthCS as the sixth most trending topic.

Doctors on strike outside Afya House. /FILE

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