Ken Barrand is a surgeon who worked in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2008. For 25 years, he has helped people who were wounded in armed conflicts in places like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Darfur. As a surgeon working for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), he has seen first-hand the remarkable difference the Red Cross makes.
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“Initially working as a Red Cross surgeon was just an interesting job in an exotic place. It means working in challenging environments such as the DRC, where medical facilities are not well developed. It’s comparable with other countries where the infrastructure has broken down, such as Somalia, Afghanistan, and Sudan.
“But I’ve also come to enjoy the cultural diversity, the extraordinary range of pathology and the delight at being able to make quite a lot of the injured better with some simple basic techniques.
“I remember a patient with a fairly simple vascular injury. We were able to save life and limb. It wasn’t difficult, but I realised that if I hadn’t been there the patient may well have died.
Treating the wounded
“There are two aspects to my work in the DRC. Firstly I run the osteomyelitis (infection of bone or bone marrow) programme at the Panzi hospital in Bukavu. Old war wounds often have infected bone and the programme looks after those who did not get treatment when they were first injured.
“In this area, the wounded have no immediate access to healthcare. The survivors usually have limb injuries and often there is a chronic infection in the long bones. The ICRC offers free healthcare and so far, over the past 18 months, about 300 patients have been treated.
“Secondly if there is a problem, like the current situation in North Kivu, I can be released to go and help for a week or two, providing emergency cover. About three weeks ago I went to Goma to assist the Katindo military hospital, which had received an influx of war wounded due to the recent increase in fighting. I returned there in a hurry, a week ago, for a second wave of injuries. It’s pretty exciting to be involved in managing battle casualties, as you never know which injury the next patient will have.”
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