Pregnant mothers and accident victims were on Wednesday among thousands of patients turned away in hospitals around the country as private facilities went on a go-slow in solidarity with government doctors on strike.

In some hospitals, entire sections were shut down completely, while private clinics opened but did not offer medical services, leaving patients to their own devices. Private doctors placed notices on their doors indicating that they would not be seeing patients for 48 hours as requested by the Kenya Medical Association (KMA) on Tuesday, when it demanded the release of jailed doctors’ union officials.

By the time the union officials walked out of prison doors on Wednesday evening after an Appellate Court granted their request pending hearing of their appeal, normal services had resumed in major private hospitals. Nairobi Hospital was among major facilities that had closed business in solidarity with the jailed doctors’ officials. The hospital had in the morning announced that it would offer partial services but resumed normal operations soon after the court order.