BRITISH COLUMBIA MEDICINTRODUCES A SIMPLE, LIFE-SAVING REFORM THAT BENEFITS AFGHANS WOUNDED ON THE BATTLEFIELD
THE TOURNIQUET
A few weeks after arriving in Afghanistan in 2008, a rocket-propelled grenade exploded in a bunker & killed 4 out of 12 Afghans. Mc Bride noted that the casualties were killed outright & many others had limbs blown off. He recalls “They didn’t have the skill-set or the equipment to manage the situation. Had they applied tourniquets right after the incident, they could have saved a few guys, but they blew out…. I knew we had to do something.”
A tourniquet is a simple piece of equipment that improves the survival rate of soldiers suffering serious injuries & massive Haemorrhage. It is casually applied & requires minimal training to use effectively.
However the tourniquets used by Canadian forces soldiers in Afghanistan cost $23 each & are manufactured in USA> Given the fragility of. The Afghan Medical supply system, securing western style tourniquets in a timely fashion was virtually impossible. Under McBride’s leadership, the Western Medics designed a tourniquet that could be manufactured in Afghanistan.
“We designed a simple one that local Manufacturers could produce from readily available materials, Incidentally providing employment for women in Kandahar.” He continued “the result is a length of nylon webbing complete with instructional sheets written in Dari, the official language of the Afghan Army, & visual posters.”
Now almost 12,000 units have been manufactured & the Afghan National Police have also benefitted from the project…. McBride hopes the initiative is extended throughout the Afghan Army.
( the above info is from “Lookout Magazine” & was written by Mary Ellen Green in 14th Sept. 2009 & can be found in Vol.54, No.37)
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