Nairobi, September 28, 2021.
On 28th September 2021, the MOH visited the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral & Research Hospital to officially commission a 20,000-litre liquid oxygen tank that was donated through the Ministry of Health by the World Bank. The Ministry was represented by Dr. Anne Nganga, Project Manager for the COVID 19 Emergency Response Project, who said that the Government of Kenya will continue supporting all institutions involved in the COVID 19 fight.
Ms. Gladys Ogallo, the KUTRRH Board representative, appreciated the MOH. She thanked the Ministry for the focus they have given to the Hospital and the support they have shown in many other areas.
“It is very gratifying to hear that not only were you focused on prevention but strengthening of the health system. Because the Ministry is supporting us so well, we have an obligation to ensure that the services and facilities are being used well and for the public as we prepare for bigger things.” Noted Ms. Ogallo.
The KUTRRH Ag. CEO Dr. Victor Njom thanked all the partners involved in the oxygen plant and support from the Ministry. He said,
“As a facility, KUTRRH has been one of the biggest facilities dealing with COVID-19 cases from the beginning and we have ended up being a model Hospital in the way that we dealt with the virus while continuing other Hospital functions.”
Currently, the Oxygen plant at KUTRRH produces 2400 liters per hour. The new tank will play a huge role in bridging the gap in oxygen requirements which has increased due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
KUTRRH is already supporting other facilities, which fits in with the plan of MOH and the World Bank. The introduction of the bulk oxygen tank means that KUTRRH can support more hospitals.
From 2017 the BOC started a program to increase access to oxygen in hospitals after discovering that it was at 16% in health care facilities and primarily found in the theatre rather than accessible to the whole hospital. COVID-19 changed the oxygen requirements in Hospitals, which meant that companies had to develop measures to increase access and mitigate for the next phase.
Cylinders are not feasible as the number of cylinders needed was too high, so the World Bank came up with the idea to have bulk tanks installed at level 5 and 6 national and referral hospitals to deliver the oxygen in bulk liquid form for patients. This means that the smaller cylinders could now be freed up for smaller hospitals requiring more oxygen.
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