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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ministry of Health- MOH has commenced installation works of an oxygen plant at Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital. The casualty ward at Entebbe hospital is currently undergoing remodelling to host the oxygen plant. This includes breaking walls of the two-roomed ward to create three rooms for the oxygen plant.
Floor works will include setting up a rump at the filling station for easy transportation of refilled cylinder from the plant. Eng. George Otim, the Commissioner Health Services Infrastructure in the MOH expects the remodelling works to be complete by end of the week to pave way for the installation works.
Silverbacks Pharmacy Ltd won a contract worth Shillings 6.4billion to supply and install seven medical oxygen plants in 4 health facilities including Entebbe hospital, to provide 450 oxygen cylinders, 450 regulators, cannulas and humidifier bottles. The company has already installed four plants at Mulago National Specialized Hospital with a capacity to fill up 400 cylinders a day.
Kayunga General Hospital, Entebbe and Mbarara regional referral hospitals will receive one plant each. Eng. George Otim, the Commissioner Health Services Infrastructure in the MOH, says the oxygen plant at Entebbe Hospital will have the capacity to fill up 50 cylinders a day.
Each cylinder contains 6,800 liters of oxygen. Dr. Moses Muwanga, the Director Entebbe Hospital, says that the installation works are timely. Muwanga says there are 138 COVID-19 patients currently admitted at the facility. Of these, 14 are in critical condition and need of oxygen.
“Each patient consumes about 2 oxygen cylinders a day,” Muwanga said. Adding that “And we can only refill these cylinders from the manufacturers in Namanve or other facilities or even Nakasongola when the Namanve plants are down.”
He says the installation of the oxygen plant at the hospital will significantly reduce the money and time spent to refill the cylinders several kilometers away. While Entebbe Hospital refills the cylinders from medical oxygen plants free, other suppliers sell a full oxygen cylinder between Shillings 40,000 and 50,000. It is costly for critical COVID-19 patients who are footing bills for the oxygen they consume while in ICU.
Eng. Otim says critical patients normally consume 5 liters of oxygen per minute. This is about 7,200 liters of oxygen or approximately one cylinder a day. However, COVID-19 patients in critical condition consume at least 15 liters of oxygen per minute, which is thrice the oxygen needed for non-COVID-19 critical patients.
A COVID-19 patient can consume over 21,000 liters of oxygen a day, translating to three oxygen cylinders a day, depending on the severity of their condition. Muhammad Mubiru, the Principal Administrator Entebbe Hospital, says the ministry and management are also discussing the required human resource for the oxygen plant, staff accommodation and operational costs and how it will serve nearby health facilities.
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