Drink driving is the leading cause of injuries caused by road accidents at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital (CGTRH), particularly in the orthopedic department.

According to Dr Bernard Odhiambo, an orthopedic surgeon at the facility, most of the patients treated for such injuries are victims of accidents involving two and three-wheeled taxis, Bodabodas and Tuk Tuks, which account for 74 percent of the cases they handle.

“Most of these incidents happen on Fridays and weekends when people are out partying. The patients usually arrive heavily intoxicated,” Dr Odhiambo explained.

Arrive in hospital

“In many cases, they don’t even know where they are when they first arrive at the hospital. It’s only after they wake up that they realize they’re in a hospital bed. During handling of the patients we normally detect the intoxication among these patients. Some of them tell us that they were drinking before the accident or people who bring them will tell you.”

Stressing on the importance of proper first aid training to prevent further harm to patients Dr Odhiambo noted mistakes during first aid often worsen patients brought at the facility from road crash scenes.

“We’ve seen patients who’ve been mishandled by untrained first responders. In cases involving spine or neck injuries, improper handling can turn an incomplete fracture or dislocation into a life-threatening injury. For instance when we talk of spine and neck injuries which are the worst that get complications, you will find that a fracture or a dislocation that was not complete in the spine if that patient is handled like an animal being slaughtered with the head dangling then whatever was not complete becomes complete,” he said,

“Some of them come here when they have bled a lot and lost a lot of blood so you have to get some blood again to replenish what they have lost…some of them come dehydrated and we have to infuse the intravenous (IV) fluid.”