Influence of industrial action on provision of medical services by nurses in public hospitals: a case of rift valley provincial general hospital, Nakuru county, Kenya.

Abstract

medical services, to investigate the influence of walk out strikes on the provision of medical services, to identify the influence of go slow strikes on the provision of medical services and to establish the influence of picketing on the provision of medical services. The theoretical framework of this study was derived from conflict and functional theories. The study used an ex post facto design. The population of the study was 540 nurses from the hospital and a sample of 225 nurses were selected using simple random sampling. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19. Descriptive statistics was computed and data was presented using tables. The findings indicated that most (89%) of the respondents noted that the number of outpatients in the hospital drop. The study also revealed that walkout strikes may cause the risk of hospitals being closed down; this was supported by 89% of the respondents, majority (87%) of the respondents also agreed that, during this period, the management is put under pressure thus unable to effectively manage and the whole process disrupts general work operations in the hospital and finally the findings indicated that most (73%) of the respondents strongly agreed that picketing disrupts daily hospital routine. It was concluded that strike activity clearly affected to a large extend the provision of medical services in the industry. Participants reported that sit in strikes, walk out strikes, go slow strikes and picketing gives employees the opportunity to occupy the work place, continue or perhaps stop work but deny the employer access to or control of the production process. The employees remain on the employer's premises, taking possession of the property and preventing the employer from entering is per se unlawful. This affects the running of the hospital activities. The study recommended that workers should be well paid so that they can meet up with their daily needs and it should not be delayed for any reason at all and that the government should stop using threats to the employee as a solution to strike action rather they should use dialogue to bring a lasting solution.