Broken equipment threatens lives
There is a crisis at the Oshakati Intermediate Hospital, where many diagnostic machines are out of order and red tape is causing delays in replacing or repairing them.
The equipment at the only referral hospital catering to patients from all the northern regions and southern Angola is overused because of the high demand.
The CT scanner, fluoroscopy, mammogram, digital X-ray and C-Arm medical imaging devices are among the equipment that has been out of order for quite some time, the hospital's medical superintendent, Dr Korbinian Vizcaya Amutenya, has confirmed.
An elderly woman who was referred to the hospital for diagnosis from the Onandjokwe Lutheran Hospital on 28 August was sent back home untreated because of a broken CT scanner.
According to this pensioner's family her condition is getting worse.
“Every time we take her to the hospital we are told that there is nothing they can do pending the scanner results. We do not know until when she will be like this,” said a family member.
Amutenya confirmed that the CT scanner was among many machines that are not functioning, but he said the scanner only broke down last week.
“Appart from the CT scanner, there are also other machines that are not working. The fluoroscopy, the mammogram, digital X-ray and we just received the C-Arm last week. These are some of the equipment that is not functional at the moment. We have already put in requisitions and the ministry is aware,” Amutenya said.
“We have to put in requisitions through the procurement management units so that we can procure those items. This equipment is not manufactured here, it is manufactured in foreign countries and has to be produced according to our specifications, and this is taking long.”
Amutenya said depending on patients' situations, they refer patients who need imaging studies to Windhoek or to private hospitals.
“There is equipment in Windhoek and we always send patients there. If it is an emergency we can send patients to private institutions, however at private institutions it's costly and especially during this dry period one will not wish to go that route. However sometimes we are forced to do so by the situation because we cannot compromise on people's health,” he said.
Amutenya says machines are breaking down because the Oshakati hospital is a referral hospital for all the district hospitals in the Oshana, Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshikoto, Kavango and Kunene regions. Angolan healthcare services also refer patients there.
It is reported that the hospital provides healthcare to more than 950 000 people.
“All these patients are coming to us, but the equipment that we have is not commensurate with the demand. For example, the CT scanner that broke is designed to make only about 200 000 sorties before replacing the tube, but because of the demand, when ours broke it had made more than 500 000 sorties,” Amutenya explained.
“We are supposed to have at least two or three scanners so that they can operate smoothly, but since we are in a resource-limited setting we have to work with what we can afford.”
ILENI NANDJATO
The equipment at the only referral hospital catering to patients from all the northern regions and southern Angola is overused because of the high demand.
The CT scanner, fluoroscopy, mammogram, digital X-ray and C-Arm medical imaging devices are among the equipment that has been out of order for quite some time, the hospital's medical superintendent, Dr Korbinian Vizcaya Amutenya, has confirmed.
An elderly woman who was referred to the hospital for diagnosis from the Onandjokwe Lutheran Hospital on 28 August was sent back home untreated because of a broken CT scanner.
According to this pensioner's family her condition is getting worse.
“Every time we take her to the hospital we are told that there is nothing they can do pending the scanner results. We do not know until when she will be like this,” said a family member.
Amutenya confirmed that the CT scanner was among many machines that are not functioning, but he said the scanner only broke down last week.
“Appart from the CT scanner, there are also other machines that are not working. The fluoroscopy, the mammogram, digital X-ray and we just received the C-Arm last week. These are some of the equipment that is not functional at the moment. We have already put in requisitions and the ministry is aware,” Amutenya said.
“We have to put in requisitions through the procurement management units so that we can procure those items. This equipment is not manufactured here, it is manufactured in foreign countries and has to be produced according to our specifications, and this is taking long.”
Amutenya said depending on patients' situations, they refer patients who need imaging studies to Windhoek or to private hospitals.
“There is equipment in Windhoek and we always send patients there. If it is an emergency we can send patients to private institutions, however at private institutions it's costly and especially during this dry period one will not wish to go that route. However sometimes we are forced to do so by the situation because we cannot compromise on people's health,” he said.
Amutenya says machines are breaking down because the Oshakati hospital is a referral hospital for all the district hospitals in the Oshana, Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshikoto, Kavango and Kunene regions. Angolan healthcare services also refer patients there.
It is reported that the hospital provides healthcare to more than 950 000 people.
“All these patients are coming to us, but the equipment that we have is not commensurate with the demand. For example, the CT scanner that broke is designed to make only about 200 000 sorties before replacing the tube, but because of the demand, when ours broke it had made more than 500 000 sorties,” Amutenya explained.
“We are supposed to have at least two or three scanners so that they can operate smoothly, but since we are in a resource-limited setting we have to work with what we can afford.”
ILENI NANDJATO
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