Transforming burns care in Tanzania

Many families in Tanzania use kerosene to light their homes and firewood for cooking. Sadly, this all too often causes terrible accidents and debilitating injuries, resulting in thousands of men, women and children experiencing the emotional, physical and sometimes fatal consequences of burns every year.

Back in 2011 Northumbria Healthcare began to work with doctors and nurses at KCMC to develop specialised healthcare services for patients with burns, improving nursing treatment methods and undertaking a multi-disciplinary approach to improve patient outcomes – this work continues today.

Through years of dedication and innovation, we have seen the hospital successfully open a Burns Unit – the first of its kind in Tanzania – and now doctors and nurses travel from across the country to undertake training at KCMC in burns management and reconstructive surgery. The project involves volunteer healthcare professionals from across the globe, from Northumbria and Newcastle to as far as South Africa and Australia, who have shared their time and skills to deliver specialist training to colleagues in the hospital.

The opening of the Burns Unit and access to good treatment and surgery has meant that, for many, they are able to live a life free from disability and pain.

As well as developing services in the hospital, an integral part of our burns project is the work undertaken in the community. Our volunteers have also delivered training to local schools and community groups, including motorbike and taxi drivers, to help spread awareness of burns and teach first aid to improve prevention and immediate response.

When Covid-19 hit, a lot of healthcare workers in Tanzania sadly lost their lives. This left the burns unit severely understaffed and undertrained. Bright International continues to support a team of Northumbria and Newcastle colleagues to travel out to KCMC once a year, to continue improvement of the unit and develop our colleague’s working knowledge of the field.

In 2022, the Burns Unit at KCMC was made the National Referral Centre for Burns my the Tanzanian Ministry of Health.

“It has been a great pleasure to work alongside the dedicated staff at KCMC to develop the burns service. Much progress has been made since my first visit to KCMC in 2013 and we shall continue to mentor, train and teach multidisciplinary burn care here in Moshi – driving towards the very best outcomes for all burns patients.”
Surgeon Mr Jeremy Rawlins, Clinical Lead for the project.