JOOTRH Nurses Under Fire as Union Breaks Silence on Public Outcry

The Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives (KNUNM) has defended nurses at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) amid growing public complaints about patient care at the Kisumu-based facility.

In an official statement issued on Sunday, October 11, the union acknowledged concerns raised by patients and their families but warned against collectively blaming nurses for challenges that may be beyond their individual control.

KNUNM cited staff shortages, inadequate resources, congestion and heavy workloads among the challenges affecting healthcare workers, calling on hospital management and relevant authorities to address the gaps.

“As a union, we stand in solidarity with our nurses and strongly caution against collectively blaming, condemning or subjecting nursing professionals to online harassment and public trolling for systemic challenges that extend beyond their individual control,” the statement read.

The union, however, acknowledged that some healthcare workers may have fallen short of expected professional standards, saying substantiated cases should be addressed through established accountability mechanisms.

KNUNM Acknowledges Patients’ Right to Quality Care

While defending nurses, KNUNM stressed that patients and their families deserve timely attention, dignity and respectful treatment.

The union maintained that protecting healthcare workers and safeguarding patients were complementary responsibilities.

“At the same time, we value and respect the rights of patients and their families to quality healthcare, dignity, timely attention and respectful treatment,” the statement read.

KNUNM urged nurses to uphold professionalism, empathy and accountability in every interaction with patients. It also appealed to members of the public to raise concerns constructively rather than subjecting healthcare workers to personal attacks.

The statement comes amid mounting public criticism of services at JOOTRH, with patients and families sharing complaints about their experiences at the hospital.

Public Raise Concerns Over JOOTRH Services

Among the complaints circulating online are allegations that patients have waited for hours without receiving adequate attention, concerns about rude responses from healthcare workers and claims of shortages of essential medicines.

Some members of the public have also raised concerns about mothers who reportedly lost their babies and families who say their relatives died while seeking treatment at the facility.

An elderly man was also reportedly at the centre of a complaint alleging that he died while waiting to receive treatment in a wheelchair. The circumstances surrounding the reported death have not been independently established in the information available for this report.

The complaints have sparked calls for investigations into patient care, staff conduct and the hospital’s administrative systems.

In a public statement addressing the concerns, Kisumu-based public-interest advocate Benard Oyoo Oraro called for investigations into alleged patient neglect, treatment delays and deaths that families believe could have been prevented.

Oraro urged relevant authorities to review the hospital’s operations, strengthen patient protection mechanisms and ensure that complaints lead to meaningful action.

He also called for an assessment of departmental leadership, staff deployment, emergency response procedures and complaint-handling systems.

However, he noted that reforms should not target healthcare workers without evidence of wrongdoing, acknowledging that many professionals work under difficult conditions and require adequate resources and institutional support.

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Ministry of Health Intervenes at JOOTRH

The public outcry has also drawn the attention of the Ministry of Health, which sent Principal Secretary for Medical Services Ouma Oluga to the hospital on Saturday, October 10.

Speaking after meeting hospital staff, Oluga acknowledged the concerns circulating on social media and said the ministry was taking steps to reinforce accountability and improve patient care.

“It’s both in the value of the President’s agenda that this hospital functions properly. I have met with the staff to reinforce that we must do everything possible to instil value-based healthcare,” Oluga stated.

He added that the ministry was aware of the public complaints and was monitoring how the hospital responded to them.

“We are also not blind to some complaints that are there on social media. Just so the staff knows that we are still at the helm of leadership and we are watching the responses in the community,” he said.

Oluga announced plans for transformational training for hospital staff to strengthen teamwork and improve service delivery.

“For the staff, we are going to do a lot. We are going to do transformational training and look at how we work together in the cycle care,” he stated.

The Principal Secretary also challenged the hospital to assess whether its actions were producing the intended results for patients and the wider community.

“We have to look deeply and reflect on ourselves to see the accuracy of our actions and the experiences those actions produce for the people and the community,” he said.

JOOTRH had also announced an internal investigation into complaints raised by a patient, saying it had engaged the complainant over the concerns.

Photo of Principal Secretary for Medical Services Ouma Oluga while addressing the media at JOOTRH on October 10
PHOTO/File

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KNUNM Commits to Working With Authorities

KNUNM said it would work with the Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK), the Ministry of Health, the Kisumu County Government and the JOOTRH Board of Management to investigate the concerns and identify the underlying problems affecting service delivery.

“Going forward, KNUNM leadership commits to working collaboratively with all relevant stakeholders, including the Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK), the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Kisumu County Government and the Board of Management of JOOTRH, to jointly investigate the concerns raised, identify the underlying systemic and operational gaps, and develop and implement tangible, sustainable solutions,” the statement read.

The union said the collaboration would seek to improve patient care, strengthen the working environment for nurses and restore public confidence in healthcare institutions.

It called on hospital management and relevant authorities to address service delivery gaps while ensuring that legitimate complaints receive timely attention.

KNUNM maintained that healthcare institutions must be held accountable for the systems they provide, while nurses should receive the dignity, resources and safe working conditions they need to perform their duties.

“Our position is clear: patients deserve quality care, nurses deserve dignity and a safe working environment, and healthcare institutions must be held accountable for the systems they are responsible for providing,” the statement read.

The union confirmed its commitment to protecting patients, defending nurses’ dignity and strengthening the public healthcare system through accountability, mutual respect and cooperation.

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Photo of KNUNM Officials led by Seth Panyako addressing the media during a past event
PHOTO/File