Seth Panyako’s Advice To Nurses Handling Corona Virus Cases
March 16, 2020
5 Min Read
Knun secretary general Seth Panyako addresses the media at the sidelines of the East Africa Labour and Health Workforce Scientific Conference in Mombasa. Photo/NDEGWA GATHUNGU
The Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) Secretary General Seth Panyako has accused government of doing little to protect nurses and other health workers.
SG Seth Panyako has called upon health workers to flee a hostile working environment.
“Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2007, health workers are free to flee from a hostile environment like the current Coronavirus crisis,” he said.
He points that health workers across counties are making distress calls as they do not have protective gears and training is deficient.
This comes at a time that Mbagathi Hospital nurses have staged a go-slow due to lack of adequate corona-virus training and little support to protect their families.
Government officials on Saturday briefed the country on the coronavirus following confirmation of Kenya’s first case on Friday. The patient is a 27 year-old Kenyan who travelled from the US via London. The Health ministry said she is in a self-contained room at the Kenyatta National Hospital.
“The patient is stable, cheerful and vibrant with normal vital signs,” Health Chief Administrative Secretary Mercy Mwangangi said.
On Friday, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said she will not be released from KNH’s Infectious Disease Unit until she is confirmed negative.
The Judiciary has temporarily suspended the hearing of civil cases across the country effective today as the reality of the deadly coronavirus (Covid-19) hit closer home since last Friday when the country recorded the first case.
CJ Maraga told a press briefing on Sunday that court activities will be reduced for two weeks effective Monday to allow further consultations on the matter and the design of appropriate response measures.
During this period, the National Council for Administration of Justice (NCAJ) headed by Chief Justice David Maraga, said prisoners and remandees will not be presented to court.
“In compliance with the directive issued by the National Emergency and Response Committee, we shall forthwith scale down court activities throughout the country over the next two weeks effective tomorrow, March 16, 2020 in order to allow further consultations and design appropriate measures to prevent the spread of the virus,” Maraga said yesterday at the Supreme Court of Kenya after a closed-door meeting that lasted four hours with members of the council.
On Saturday, a team from the ministry led by Public Health Deputy Director, Dr Fidelis Lagho, fumigated the building in Ongata Rongai, Kajiado County, where the patient lives.
RESPONSE TEAM
Government Spokesperson Cyrus Oguna said a Detection Committee was created under the National Emergency Response Committee. It is made up of representatives from the World Health Organization, Amref, the Kenya Red Cross Society, the CDC, the University of Nairobi, World Bank Group, the Kenya Private Sector Alliance and the county and national governments.
“Our preparedness is at the highest level possible but we cannot get to 100 per cent if we do not involve the people. Therefore every Kenyan must be involved in prevention,” he said, noting the need to observe high standards of hygiene. The government continues to maintain heightened surveillance at all points of entry, health facilities and communities across the country. Members of the public are urged to remain vigilant and continue taking precautionary measures as advised.”
Colonel (Rtd) Oguna also asked Kenyans to only accept information from the government’s official channels.
“Fake and alarming videos on [the virus in Kenya] have been forwarded to the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for investigations, arrest and prosecution of the individuals,” he said while urging the public to contact it emergency teams on hotlines 0729 471414 and 0732 353535.
KNUN Infights
In February this year, Kenya National Union of Nurses (Knun) secretariat released a notice informing its members that its offices located at Nairobi’s Uchumi house have been closed.
“This is to inform all members and partners of Knun that the union offices (headquarters) will remain closed beginning February 18, 2020, until further notice due to security reasons…” read part of the notice.
KNUN has been torn apart by supremacy battles between two factions, one led by national Chairman John Bii and the other by Secretary-General Seth Panyako.
“As much as the constitution guarantees the right to industrial action, the notice is ill-advised. You cannot take soldiers to war without adequate preparedness. We shall ignore the strike notice,” asserted National Nurses Association of Kenya (NNAK) official Alfred Obengo.
“The secretary-general knows that his days are numbered and that is why he is trying to divert attention through a strike that we cannot allow,” KNUN national Chairman John Bii averred.
But Panyako has denied issuing any strike notice. He said the leaked document was a creation of his opponents who want to make him look insensitive before the public.
“They generated the letter so that they can make money because they thrive in industrial action,” said Panyako.
Sources within the union said the vicious battle has been spurred by attempts to control a health insurance scheme for nurses.
“The clandestine registration of a private firm by individuals led by the secretary-general, and the signing of an agreement thereafter without the members’ knowledge using the union’s name is, by all means, one of the greatest scandals perpetrated in recent times in the nursing fraternity,” Bii’s letter stressed.
In another letter to CoG dated December 19, 2019, this time penned by Panyako, the secretary-general asserts that Caremark are the legal guardians of the nurses’ scheme. The letter quotes the Health Amendment Act, 2019 that came into force in May last year, which states that every nurse shall in each year take a professional indemnity cover and every health institution shall in each year insure the health institution against professional liability of its staff.
“All deductions should be channeled through the Caremark Foundation, which is the official agent of AAR insurance company with effect from January 2020.” the letter reads.
