Inspiration
10 years, there has been an average of 9,741 reported road accidents in Kenya annually. From these, a repeated average number of over 3,000 people have been killed annually.
KNBS also reveal that on average, 17,000 people are injured in accidents every year for the past 10 years. Of those, half are serious or permanent injuries, translating to one person being permanently disabled every hours.
Esther is just but one of the many who fall in this figure. She is currently receiving treatment at AIC Cure Kijabe Hospital where treatments for injuries from upper to lower limbs, spine and other orthopedic conditions are managed.
She underwent surgery to fix her broken pelvic bone where specific screws were inserted in the pelvic to stabilise it.
“ After the operation, she was able to undergo further evaluation and treatment of the urethral injury( urine tube). After treatment we were able to remove the catheter and she is now healed. She is currently able to walk with the aid of crutches. The pelvic bone that was fixed is healing well and she can pass urine too,” said Dr Francis Mbugua – Orthopedic and Arthroscopic surgeon at AIC Cure Kijabe Hospital.
Dr Mbugua is, however, concerned that there remains an issue with the reproductive system of Esther after the injury which still needs to be treated by a gynecologist.
But all is not lost; there is still hope for people like Esther.
There are a number of organisations that offer help and rehabilitation services to persons with disability( PWD) in Kenya, both the private sector and the government.
National Council for Persons with Disabilities( NCPWD) is one such state corporation. One of their priority areas is the cash transfer for PWDs, provision of assistive devices, economic empowerment, education and necessary infrastructure for PWD.
Association for the Physically Disabled Kenya( APDK) is also one such organisation that offers rehabilitation
services to persons with different abilities. APDK offers both physiotherapy and occupational therapy to adults. They also assemble orthopedic appliances such as crutches, calipers, wheelchairs, tricycles, and surgical boots among others.
Various campaigns have also been launched aiming at providing assistive devices for accident survivors awaiting surgical interventions and counseling to survivors of road accidents who need it.
One such campaign is the“ Linda Maisha-Zuia Ulemavu”( Protect Life- Prevent Disability) that seeks to highlight and mitigate against road carnage as a cause of disability with a view to change road usage behavior.
KNH corporate affairs and communications manager, Simon Ithai said that the hospital is over-stretched in terms of the number of RTA patients they admit daily.
Mr Ithai said that it is unfortunate that a ward that is supposed to have 32 patients may sometimes have even 90 patients.
He adds that the length of stay for RTA victims is usually between three months and over a year depending on the seriousness of the injuries.
“ Out of the 20 patients we admit daily, at least five will require Intensive
Care Unit or High Dependency Unit where one will have to spend between Sh35,000 to Sh40,000 a day. The ward charges are Sh3,000 per day,” said Mr Ithai.
He further said that the cost of treatment from the time of admission may cost between Sh200,000 to Sh, 3 million because RTA victims sometimes suffer multiple injuries in different parts of the body where each treatment requires a specialized doctor depending in their area of specialisation.
He laments that majority of these patients are poor and mostly do not have a sustainable income, are not insured and are not covered by National Hospital Insurance Fund( NHIF), thereby leaving the hospital with accrued bills that sometimes go unpaid.
Ithai said that almost 95 per cent of RTA victims do not pay any amounts on admission. Even the general opening of a file is usually on credit. The hospital usually requests money on treatment only.
APDK vice chair Lumbi Wa M’ Nabea said that it is unfortunate that the most people prone to accidents are in the age bracket of 19-40, which is the most productive age group.
Whenever a road accident is
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