Medical laboratory officers in Turkana County on Monday commenced an industrial strike citing a range of grievances, chief among them acute understaffing.
According to Moses Emoit, a union official representing the laboratory officers, the county government has failed to recruit new laboratory personnel and specialists since the last employment drive in 2016. "Turkana County currently has only 63 medical laboratory officers serving all 228 health facilities.
Lodwar County Referral Hospital alone requires 56 officers for optimal operation, leaving only nine officers to serve the remaining facilities across the county," said Emoit.
The staffing crisis is expected to worsen following the completion of six additional dispensaries this year under socio-economic infrastructure projects by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA).
