Service Delivery: Laikipia Promotes 35 Specialists, Absorbs Casual Doctors After Talks With KMPDU

By Staff Reporter

Laikipia County has moved to strengthen its health workforce after reaching an agreement with a doctors’ union to absorb casual doctors and promote specialists who had stagnated for years.

The agreement between the County Government of Laikipia and the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) seeks to regularise employment terms, upgrade specialists and recruit more doctors to address staffing gaps.

Governor Joshua Irungu said the agreement was reached after intensive talks with KMPDU secretary-general Dr Davji Atellah on improving doctors’ welfare, addressing stalled promotions and sustaining stable labour relations in the county health system.

The Governor said his administration had prioritised dialogue with health workers since he took office in 2022 and that his first decision in office was to reinstate doctors who had been dismissed by the previous administration.

“Our approach has been to maintain constructive engagement with doctors because stable labour relations are key to reliable healthcare services,” said Governor Irungu while signing the agreement in Nanyuki.

He confirmed that his administration complied with court orders and paid nearly Sh400 million in salary arrears and promotion adjustments owed to the affected doctors.

Under the new agreement, the Governor revealed, doctors serving on casual contracts will be absorbed into permanent and pensionable terms by March 18. The county has also recruited five additional doctors, including two gynaecologists, to strengthen maternal healthcare services.

The agreement further provides for promotion of 35 doctors who attained specialist qualifications but had remained in lower job groups for years. Four doctors will move from Job Group P to R while 31 others will be upgraded from Job Groups N and P to Job Group Q.

The county is reviewing doctors’ requests for study leave and further training, a move expected to expand specialist skills, improve service quality, and strengthen healthcare delivery. A decision, the Governor said, will be communicated by March 18.

Dr Atellah said the agreement demonstrated the value of dialogue between county governments and healthcare workers and that the County Government of Laikipia serves as a good example other county should emulate.

“This agreement demonstrates that structured engagement between county governments and doctors can resolve long-standing employment concerns,” said Dr Atellah, adding that improving employment terms for doctors would strengthen service delivery.

He explained that when doctors work in dignified conditions and have clear career progression, the ultimate beneficiaries are patients seeking care in public hospitals. He revealed that some of the specialists had stagnated since 2019 after missing earlier promotion opportunities under the previous administration.

Dr Atellah said the union would continue monitoring implementation of the agreement to ensure the commitments made during the talks are honoured. The promotions are expected to be finalised by the Laikipia County Public Service Board by April 1.