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The health sector in Mombasa sank into further crisis after the laboratory officers joined the ongoing medics strike yesterday, leaving operations at the facility in a paralysis.

Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers (KNUMLO) Mombasa branch secretary Moses Maingi, confirmed critical operations including laboratory and blood transfusion services were officially withdrawn from all public hospitals effective Monday midnight.

“In Kenya, we have a shortage of more than 10,000 laboratory officers. Mombasa is a city county yet it has only 100 laboratory officers. This is a great shortage and it is Kenyans who are suffering because you will find that those in the far flung areas such as Jomvu, Likoni and Kisauni have no access to laboratory services,” Maingi said noting that the strike is on and there will be no turning back.”

The move came barely 24 hours after the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KOCO) also confirmed that its members had joined the nationwide doctors’ strike which has now entered the third week, further exacerbating the crisis.

Yesterday, KUCO Mombasa branch chair Ismail Ramadhan confirmed the escalation of the health crisis and called for speedy resolution of the crisis.

He said the clinical officers will stay away from work until a raft of pending grievances including completion of the prolonged negotiations on the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) which stalled since 2017 are met.

“Despite the court order that called for engagement and resolution of the CBA, there has been a clear lack of cooperation by the Council of Governors (CoG) and this is why we are here today.

Secondly, the contracted staff under UHC and others who were employed during Covid-19 have had their contracts renewed unprocedurally…we want them employed on permanent and pensionable terms,” Ramadhan told People Daily yesterday.