"Seeing severely injured people is not something you get used to"

In the trauma room, Festus Kimuge works as part of a team that treats patients who have sustained injuries as a result of road traffic accidents, blunt or sharp trauma such as falls or stabbings, work accidents, electrocutions, burns, and many more. They are also some of the first responders to care for victims of self-inflicted injuries, collapsed buildings and violent crimes. They resuscitate and stabilize patients, and refer those who need advanced medical care or admission for closer follow up to other medical institutions.

"Seeing injured people – some severely – is not something you can ever get used to. We are human, we also feel the pain while treating patients with severe trauma, especially children – being a father myself. However, I get my gratification in offering the best services we can in our facility, and the organization has provided us with lots of resources at our disposal, and a wonderful team to work with,” Festus says

He continues, “COVID-19 has not been easy on us, and being on the frontline, the pressure was quite high on the initial days of the outbreak when we were still learning more about the disease. Despite having protective equipment, there’s always that fear of contracting COVID-19 even outside the clinic set up. I have a young family, and I do my best to protect them by ensuring I am adequately protected at all times.”

MSF has been offering medical emergency care services in Nairobi’s Eastlands area since 2014. This service includes a toll-free call centre and ambulance service, a trauma room at MSF’s Lavender House clinic on Juja Road and support to Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital Accident & Emergency Unit.

The medical emergency set up also provides MSF with a capacity to respond to Mass Casualty Incidents, Road Traffic Accidents, collapsed buildings or fire outbreaks.

In 2019, MSF had 6,792 ambulance interventions and supported more than 35,200 consultations at the Mama Lucy KIbaki Hospital Accident & Emergency unit, and more than 9,000 in its Trauma Room on Juja Road.