Red Cross drill finds Garissa hospital medics flatfooted

Garissa County referral hospital acting Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Hussein Buro./STEPHEN ASTARIKO

Medical staff and the Kenya Red Cross personnel attend to an accident victim during the assimilation exercise./STEPHEN ASTARIKO

Medical staff and the Kenya Red Cross personnel attend to an accident victim during the assimilation exercise./STEPHEN ASTARIKO

The Kenya Red Cross Society, in partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross, yesterday staged a mass-casualty drill in Garissa to test the county’s preparedness for large-scale emergencies.

The simulation, carried out without prior notice to medical personnel, caught Garissa County Referral Hospital off guard—an intentional move designed to mirror the unpredictability of real disaster situations.

Sirens wailed and ambulances tore through the hospital gates, confusing members of the public who hurriedly gathered outside the Accident and Emergency Unit, forcing police to push back the swelling crowd.

Officials said the drill was of a bus involved in an IED attack on the Garissa-Dadaab Road with about 30 casualties.

Staff at the Garissa County Referral Hospital ran towards the ambulances with stretchers ready to receive patients.

Mock victims started to stream in, triggering an urgent mobilisation of staff and resources.

There was a standstill for like 20 minutes with nurses running up and down, pushing, shoving, and receiving patients from the ambulance.

Locals who thought there was a real emergency stood perhaps asking where these casualties were coming from.

Garissa County, Kenya, Red Cross coordinator Daud Ahmed said the goal was not only to evaluate the hospital’s ability to mount a coordinated response under pressure, but also to strengthen any weaknesses that may have occurred.

“We set up an emergency command centre, a blood donation tent and other critical units needed during a real emergency,” he said, calling for even stronger coordination among partner agencies.

“As the Kenya Red Cross, we pledge to work with all healthcare workers, including the county government, to ensure there is a seamless response in incase of disaster,” he said.

Doctor Simiyu Tabu, a consulting surgeon at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and a volunteer with ICRC, said the exercise was to test the referral hospital’s preparedness to receive mass casualties.

“From the security at the gate to control vehicles and human traffic, as well as the triage to categories who needed immediate and delayed care and even those, we may have lost them, everything went smoothly,” he said.

The hospital’s CEO Dr Hussein Buro, said the staff at the hospital are well equipped and prepared in the event of mass casualties, appreciating the work of the ICRC in training staff in such unforeseeable critical events.

“Challenges are always there. Sometimes we might not be able to handle some cases. That is why today we had to refer some patients to KNH for specialised treatment,” Buro said.

Global surgeon specialist with ICRC, Kenneth Nnaetio, said the drill capped off intensive training offered to hospital staff and security agencies.

“Mass-casualty events are chaotic and overwhelming. Today’s drill tested preparedness levels, highlighted existing gaps and will guide improvements moving forward,” he said.

The dramatic exercise, though a simulation, offered a stark reminder of the harsh realities the region continues to face—and the critical importance of readiness when real tragedy strikes.