Germany donates 10 ventilators to Kiruddu Hospital
Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary Diana Atwine(R) and other officials at Kiruddu National Referral Hospital. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Germany ambassador to Uganda Matthias Schauer said the ventilators worth Shs700m are a means of deepening Germany’s relationship with Uganda.
The German government yesterday donated 10 new ventilators to Kiruddu National Referral Hospital to improve critical care services in the country.
The machines were handed over to the hospital management in the presence of Ministry of Health officials led by Dr Diana Atwine, the Permanent Secretary, Mr Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the spokesperson, and Uganda’s Ambassador to Germany Stephen Mubiru.
Dr Charles Kabugo, the Executive Director of the hospital, said a ventilator is a life support device that takes over the breathing process by pumping air into the lungs. It is very important for patients admitted to Intensive Care Units (ICU) with severe breathing difficulties.
“Ventilators are supposed to help a patient to breathe just as you saw how people needed them during the Covid19 pandemic, but they are not only used for covid-19 but other conditions as well such as after an accident, infections, stroke,” Dr Kabugo said.
He said that these are not the first ventilators that the hospital is receiving, although these are a newer brand.
“The hospital already had more than seven ventilators but the ones that have been donated are a newer brand which are more user friendly and more sophisticated,” Dr Kabugo said.
Dr Atwine said: ‘’These machines are going to transform lives and help increase the number of patients that we have been admitting in ICU because these machines being few limits the number of patients admitted in ICU at a time.’’
Germany ambassador to Uganda Matthias Schauer said the ventilators worth Shs700m are a means of deepening Germany’s relationship with Uganda.
“The delivery of the ventilators is a joint action of the Federal Government and the Free State of Saxony which will considerably improve intensive medical care at Kiruddu Hospital,’’ Mr Schauer said.
He said there is a great need for ventilators in Uganda due to the high prevalence of infectious diseases with severe respiratory problems accompanying them.
Mr Schauer added: “I hope that the devices will serve reliably for a long time and help cure respiratory diseases for many people throughout Uganda.’’
