KATH buys large cylinders of oxygen monthly- Due to obsolete production plant
The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) spends GH¢3.6 million yearly on oxygen bought from outside to save lives because its oxygen production plant is obsolete, the Chief Executive of the hospital, Dr Joseph Akpaloo, has stated.
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Expressing worry about the situation, he explained that on the average, the hospital spends GH¢300,000 every month to buy 150 large cylinders of oxygen everyday from outside to augment the few cylinders that the obsolete machines, which should have been decommissioned years ago, produce intermittently.
Dr Akpaloo made the revelation at the opening ceremony of the hospital’s 2016 end-of-year performance review workshop recently, and noted that though the Ministry of Health (MoH) had pledged to assist the hospital to procure a new and bigger oxygen plant, they should use what they had judiciously to cut down cost.
He described as unfortunate how an oxygen plant the government procured for the hospital got burnt during the inferno at the Central Medical Stores of the MoH in Accra the very day KATH was going to take it.
New lifts
Dr Akpaloo said there were some success stories, noting that the government provided eight brand-new lifts which were used to replace the obsolete ones. He described that as significant because it was the first time in 20 years such a major facelift had taken place in the lift infrastructure of the hospital.
He said this had ameliorated the pain and suffering of pregnant women and mothers who hitherto had to climb long stairs to and from the various wards.
He announced that in line with the hospital’s mandate as a teaching health facility, and in recognition of the high standards of skilled hands and facilities at the KATH, the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists in 2016 designated the hospital as its training centre for anaesthetists in Africa.
Solar power system
According to Dr Akpaloo, the Eye Centre of KATH also benefited from a 42-kilowatts solar power system at a cost of $320,000 from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Himalayan Cataract Project. He added that with the installation of the system, the eye centre theatre could operate 24 hours in seven continuous days without depending on the national grid.
He said the management of KATH was looking for support to install additional solar power systems in other parts of the hospital as part of an overall strategy to improve the energy security of the hospital.
The hospital, he noted, embarked on phase two of the mortuary expansion project at a cost of GH¢370,770, while work on the main theatre block was completed at a cost of GH¢147,652. Renovation work was also completed on the Dental Clinic at a cost GH¢256,045.
Dr Akpaloo said in their quest to provide quality care, the hospital retooled its equipment base by spending an amount of GH¢2 million to procure various equipment from its internally generated funds.
