KENYANS STEP UP TO SERVE AND SAVE LIVES

At the NHS Nightingale, London, we find Kenyans stepping up to serve and save lives

 Above: Dr Nisha Bhudia a Critical Care Pharmacist and Dr Angina Patel working as a Support Pharmacist  at Nightingale NHS Hospital 

​Serving at the Nightingale Hospital
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Many Kenyans in the UK are healthcare workers and many are in the frontline in the war against COVID-19. Dr Daksha Hirani, a clinical psychologist; Nisha Bhudia, a critical care pharmacist at Hereford Hospital and Anjina Patel a pre-op assessment pharmacist at Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital are no exception and the three are courageously volunteering at the nightingale hospital.

Dr Daksha Hirani

​Born in Kenya, Dr Hirani has committed to giving back to the country that brought her up. She and others run the education charity, Raha International, which supports the provision of education in Kenya as her way of giving back. In her own words - “Kenya has always been close to my heart and I am thankful for the platform it provided me to venture out into the diaspora”.
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For Dr Hirani, COVID-19 is very real as she contracted the illness early on and recovered. She says: “It felt like a flu from hell sapping all the energy out of you whilst giving you aches and pains like a steamroller was repeatedly going over you”. After full recovery and self-isolating for 14 days, she decided to volunteer her services to the newly opened NHS Nightingale Hospital in London. The NHS Nightingale Hospital is effectively the largest ICU ward in the world which needs 16,000 key workers to keep the 4,000-bed unit running effectively. 

​Dr Hirani provides new staff with ‘Psychological PPE’ skills. Much in the same way that they are taught to don and doff their PPE safely, she teaches the staff to look after their own mental health and wellbeing and to look out for staff who are not coping and offer them psychological support. In the future, as the hospital admits more patients, she expects to offer support to families with compassionate care as they suffer great losses at this unprecedented time.
Dr Hirani reminds us that COVID-19 is going to bring a significant rise in people experiencing anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, complicated grief and bereavement to name a few. Her hope is to help in any way to mitigate this suffering - “then my volunteering efforts will have been worthwhile”. 

​​Also volunteering at the Nightingale Hospital are two sisters from Kenya, Nisha Bhudia, who is volunteering as a Critical Care Pharmacist and Anjina Patel – a support pharmacists. These two sisters have stepped out to provide the much needed support at Nightingale, which they also see as a learning opportunity and an inspiration to their colleagues and families. 

We acknowledge and applaud Dr Hirani, Nisha, Anjina and all other Kenyans who are in the frontline, providing much needed healthcare at this time!!!

WE REMEMBER

 We know many Kenyans are affected by COVID-19. We wish all those who are undergoing treatment, speedy recovery, and offer encouragement and support to those who are caring for sick loved ones. We also remember all those who have lost their lives to COVID19. Our thoughts are with the families and friends at this difficult time. 

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