Patients suffer as hospital oxygen plant remains disabled

The broken oxygen plant at Moi County Referral Hospital in Taita-Taveta County has not been fixed, meaning patients in critical condition must wait hours as the commodity is ferried from Mombasa County.

The Sh14 million plant set up in 2020 was supposed to ensure all public health facilities in the county had a limitless supply of oxygen.

A source at the hospital said the supplier had demanded payment of pending bills before importing the spare part estimated to cost over Sh800,000.

The plant stopped working several months ago, forcing the county to continue spending millions of shillings to buy oxygen and rent cylinders from gas manufacturers BOC Kenya.

For instance, Moi Hospital in Voi makes at least one trip to Mombasa to get its weekly supply from BOC. The facility now depends on oxygen cylinders instead of piped gas that would serve many patients at once.

The Nation has learnt that medics at Moi Hospital must sometimes refer patients to other facilities for lack of medical oxygen to save their lives.

Patients in need of respiratory support are referred to Coast General Hospital in Mombasa County and others to private facilities in Voi for oxygen therapy.

Oxygen is critical in emergency care and the plant would save money for the hospital on its oxygen demand by complementing other departments including wards, the renal unit and theatre.

Health executive John Mwakima said technicians were working to repair the machine.

"We were waiting for a spare part which was being imported. It was hard to get it earlier due to the festive period. The mechanics are fixing the equipment," he said.

The plant was also meant to supply oxygen to other facilities, including Taveta, Mwatate and Wesu hospitals.

It can produce 212,400 litres in 24 hours and cut the frequent trips to Mombasa.

Separately, two families lost their preterm babies last week due to a faulty incubator at Moi Hospital.

The deaths of the newborns have put hospital administrators on the spot as the families continue to seek answers on the incident.

The families blamed the hospital for the deaths, saying no one was willing to provide conclusive answers on what led to the deaths.

They accused the administrators of negligence by failing to ensure that the machines were in proper working condition.

Interviews with hospital staff and the affected families revealed that the deaths were reported last Thursday after a phototherapy machine broke down.

A requisition for purchase note seen by Nation.Africa and dated November 10, 2021 indicates that an officer had requested 20 pieces of phototherapy tubes that would cost Sh160,000.

The sources, who requested to remain anonymous for fear of being victimised, revealed that a manager had delayed purchasing the life-saving equipment on claims that there was no money.

"The tubes were bought after the babies died. Why should they wait for a disaster to happen before they act?" the source said.

But Mr Mwakima said he was not aware of the deaths.

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