Kenyatta National Hospital has announced that it has experienced a surge in oxygen consumption due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a notice, the hospital said it is experiencing an increase in oxygen consumption due to the Covid-19 pandemic and that over the last year, the average consumption of oxygen had doubled.
“The demand for oxygen has sharply risen from 4,000 litres to 8,000 litres per day due to the increase in the number of patients requiring ventilator support and critical care,” KNH CEO Dr Evanson Kamuri said.
This, he said, is due to an increase in the number of patients requiring ventilator support and critical care, as they are high oxygen dependent.
In light of the new developments, Kamuri also clarified that critical functions like emergency surgeries, cancer-related operations, obstetrics operations; infectious disease unit Covid facility and critical care facilities will still run normally.
According to the CEO, the hospital received 3,000 litres of oxygen as a top-up of what is used in the day-to-day running of the facility.
“This however is not enough for full operation of the hospital since we require 8,000 litres per day in the current Covid situation,” he said.
Kamuri also said that the hospital and the Ministry of Health are working closely with the supplier of the commodity to ensure steady supply despite the high demand.
The hospital is currently operating at a full capacity of 2,300 inpatients.
