- The data do not provide progress of the cases recorded and this leaves gaps for double registration.
- There are no consistent data on the subject that can inform improvement of emergency care systems.
Image: GEORGE MURAGE
Doctors and other medical professionals have decried lack of properly preserved data on road crashes in the country.
They say the gaps have undermined adequate prevention plans.
In a webinar on Wednesday, the medics drawn from Agha Khan University Hospital said there are no consistent data on the subject that can inform improvement of emergency care systems for road crash casualties.
According to Benjamin Wachira, who is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the university, the annual road crash data issued by the state are incomplete and do not give crucial details that can inform improvement of first aid services.
The data also do not provide progress of the cases recorded and this, according to him, leaves gaps for double registration of the figures and makes them unactionable.
The digital meeting brought together medics, dons and researchers from the university hospital.
According to figures issued by the government spokesman Cyrus Oguna in 2021, some 4,023 died from road accidents between January and November.
This was an increase from 3,340 deaths recorded in the same period in 2020.
Further, according to updated figures covering the whole year issued by the government, 4121 were confirmed deaths and some 10,956 people were injured in the crashes.
Of this, some 7,018 people suffered serious injuries while 3,938 people were slightly injured.
The professionals complain that the data gaps emerge because figures collected by the state don't show whether or not the crash victims who did not die on the spot survived when they are rushed to the nearest emergency trauma facilities.
“The data projected by the government does not follow up on whether those who got injured and rushed to nearby hospitals survived or died. This means that the figures on injuries may not be complete and reliable,” Wachira, who is also an emergency room physician said.
He said the state should consistently follow up on the data maintained at mortuaries, police stations and hospitals to have them synchronized to seal the gaps and enable researchers studying the subject to benefit from the bigger picture.
According to Wachira, the data they have on crashes in the country for 2021 were gleaned from social media posts but which, though consistent, are unreliable.
Another gap in the emergency response in the road crashes, they said, was the lack of healthcare facilities and trauma centers along the major highways in some regions.
"Some areas are heavily under served as they do not have a nearby facilities where crash victims can be rushed for trauma care. They have to be transported for miles, risking their lives."