Clinical officers demand payment of internship arrears

The Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) has called on the Health Cabinet Secretary nominee to address the four months of unpaid arrears for 1,267 interns and streamline the internship program.

KUCO Secretary General George Gibore described the situation as dire. He challenged the Health CS nominee to ensure interns, who were posted on April 1, 2024, are paid promptly and posted on time.

“We demand that interns must be paid and posted as it has been the norm. It is unacceptable that interns have not been paid for the last four months, and some are even relying on patients' food,” said Gibore at the KUCO Western region symposium on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) progress in Kakamega.

Gibore also called on the Ministry of Health and county governments to support healthcare workers to deliver on the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) programme, which has not been effectively implemented by previous officeholders.

“We have had a CS who was unable to perform, and now we have a new one coming in. We want to assure her of our full support, but only if she focuses on actionable results. We do not want the theory of reviewing policies from one office to another, we need a field and results-oriented working system,” he said.

Gibore said that interns constitute 27 per cent of the workforce in the health sector, particularly in referral hospitals.

He urged the Salary Remuneration Commission and Public Service Commission to ensure harmonisation of payments, productivity, equity, and fairness in the sector, which has not been achieved.

“There is a significant disparity in the health sector affecting clinicians. The government needs to address this issue to avoid mental health problems among clinicians. Many clinical officers in Job Group H receive only Sh4,000 for house allowance, with no risk allowance and inadequate medical cover. This is a form of sabotage against healthcare workers, causing mental anguish,” he said.

KUCO National Chairman Peterson Wachira urged the incoming Health CS nominee not to mismanage the internship programme, which has led to a backlog in intern postings and payments.

“The internship programme was mishandled, and now we have new leadership in the Ministry of Health. We urge the incoming CS to streamline the program, as about 2,000 interns are uncertain about their internship schedules,” said Wachira.

“We call on the presidential task force to ensure a lasting solution for internship issues, without reducing intern pay.”

Wachira also called on national and county governments to stop exploiting clinical officers under the UHC contract and to ensure all clinicians under the UHC contract are confirmed and adequately supported.

“Our two levels of government have subjected clinical officers to exploitation under UHC. We urge the government to confirm all clinicians under the UHC contract and secure more budget to meet these demands,” said Wachira.