The health services in Kiambu County have hit a critical point after the Kiambu County Referral Hospital announced Closure of it’s surgical theatres amidst a breakdown of the anesthesia machines.

According to the emergency notice, October 21, 2025, the situation is getting aggravated by the continuous doctors strike that has put health operations in the county on hold over several months.

The medical superintendent of the hospital Dr. Peninnah Makau, wrote a letter to the Chief Officer of Health stating that the hospital will not be able to handle both elective and emergency obstetric and surgical cases because anesthesia machines have failed.

The letter has further stated that patients requiring surgical procedures will be sent out to other facilities in the neighborhood until the problem is sorted out.

To have this matter promptly settled, Dr. Makau wrote in the memo, which he mailed to all the medical superintendents in the county, and which was addressed to him as the head of the Board of Trustees.

The theatre closure comes as doctors in Kiambu are still on strike that has now spanned more than four months resulting in the county hospitals being in a pathetic position of providing even the simplest of services.

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Represented by the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), the doctors downed their tools in May 2025 demanding payment of their delayed salaries, promotions, and improved working conditions.

KMPDU says that the county government has not honoured a Return-to-Work Agreement that was signed earlier this year.

The union leaders accuse the county of ignoring healthcare employees and not paying statutory deductions including medical cover premiums and pension funds.

“We cannot ask doctors to return to unsafe hospitals without equipment,pay or insurance ,” Said KMPDU Secretary-General.

The Kiambu County Government however maintains that services are still ongoing in most facilities.

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Chief Officer in charge of health Dr. Patrick Nyaga recently stated that only,”a few disgruntled union members” are on strike and insisted that the county has employed replacement staff to ensure continuity.

“Hospitals remain open and functional . We are not obligated to pay anyone who is not working,”said Dr Nyaga

Still,the recent theatre closure has raised concerns about the guarantees made in the county.

Patients are now being channeled to Nairobi and other neighboring counties hospitals since the largest referral hospital is not able to carry out surgeries putting additional strain on the national health system.

The Employment and Labour Relations Court has intervened in the dispute, barring the county from firing or replacing striking doctors until a full hearing is held .

Justice Hellen Wasilwa ruled that the case ,filed by a group of medics will be heard on October 28 2025.

Meanwhile, talks between KMPDU and county officials have resumed following a temporary pause during the national mourning for the late Raila Odinga.

Kiambu hospitals are rejecting patients with critical cases referring them to other hospitals.

At the Kenyatta national hospital (KNH), the administrators say they have witnessed sharp rise in referrals from Kiambu ,many of them being emergency cases that could have been handled locally under normal conditions.

“We are overwhelmed. Patients are arriving in critical condition because their local hospitals lack staff or equipment,” said KNH Official .

A notice for theatre closure
Image/KRH/File