Staff Reporter
INSUFFICIENT medical oxygen supply will no longer be an issue for the Onandjokwe Intermediate Hospital, which received a new, state-of-the-art Oxygen-Generating Plant, funded by the United States of America (USA) through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Oxygen-Generating Plant was handed over to the hospital on Friday by the Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Kalumbi Shangula, who said that the plant is currently the largest of its kind in the country, in terms of capacity to produce medical oxygen.
“The plant will deliver about 1 300 litres of oxygen per minute. This quantity is more than enough for the hospital consumption, even in the times of Covid-19. With some additional components, the plant can generate surplus oxygen that can be used to fill oxygen cylinders for use in facilities that do not have in-built oxygen points,” Shangula explained.
He said that the plant is part of the investment made to strengthen the capacity of the hospital to deal with emergencies. According to him, the hospital’s other oxygen-generating plant had the capacity to generate 200 litres of oxygen per minute, which was adequate to manage a number of patients before the Covid-19 pandemic. However, during the pandemic, the hospital experienced a very high demand for medical oxygen.
This, he indicated, was particularly difficult to deal with as the Onandjokwe Intermediate Hospital was one of the key battlefields in the fight against Covid-19.
Despite the challenges, Shangula said, the hospital maintained its good reputation that it had since colonial times. He added that the hospital not only remains the preferred healthcare facility in the North, but also a quality training facility for medical doctors, pharmacists and dentists.
“I can state that Onandjokwe Intermediate Hospital is indeed a beacon of hope for those who are in need of healthcare services, and for those who seek to learn academically and clinically,” Shangula said.
PICTURED: Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Kalumbi Shangula. Photo: File
