Kiambu, Saturday January 13, 2018 KNA
Health workers in HIV Testing services (HTS) in Kiambu County have appealed to the National government to absorb them on permanent basis. The over 100 health care workers form the backbone of improved comprehensive health care services which is envisaged by the government by 2022.
The workers made the appeal yesterday during the tour of the world health organization (WHO) Director General Dr.Tedros Ghebreyesus to the Kiambu level 5 hospital. The officers entrusted in this sector should be fully covered so as to encourage them to serve clients and make necessary follow ups to ensure that they access the required medical attention to curb the spread of HIV and AIDS which stands at 3.8 per cent in the County.
The health workers who include clinical officers, nurses, lab technicians, counsellors, pharmacists work on annual contracts and also do not enjoy other benefits like risk, house, uniform allowances and also retirement benefits that the other government staff are offered by the employer.
A psychology counsellor Janet Nzioka told KNA that staff working at the HTS department were poorly remunerated as they were not on permanent terms like other nurses. She said most of the affected staff do not down their tools during the strike by nurses as they continued to work therefore enabling the hospital to offer service to clients uninterrupted. She further noted that they did not also enjoy uniform allowance but they could not work with their ordinary clothes as they were handling clients within the health facilities and had to be in uniform like other staff.
The Director General hailed services at the HTS department saying it formed the most important aspect in provision of a comprehensive health care which aided fast delivery of service for any health institution. Dr. Ghebreyesus reminded the health workers that patients did not like a scenario where they spent a long time on queues before they were attended as such experiences discouraged them to return or make follow-up for their treatment.
