THE two patients who died during the power failure at the Katutura State Hospital in the middle of February could not be transferred to Rhino Park hospital.
Magrith Somaes (19) and Godwin Jones (40) died in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on February 12. Prime Minister Nahas Angula reported in Parliament yesterday that when the hospital experienced a power outage, six of the eight patients were able to be moved to the Rhino Park private hospital. He said nurses confirmed that before the power failure, Somaes was very restless and sweating a lot. A report confirmed that she was anxious, and that her blood pressure, pulse and oxygen saturation levels had dropped. Somaes, who had been in the ICU for 66 days due to post-partum cardiomyopathy and acute renal failure, died at 21H00. Jones was admitted to hospital on February 5 and underwent above-knee amputation of the left leg, and bi-femoral bypass as a result of acute myocardial infarction and a gangrenous right leg. Angula said it was reported that since Jones’s admittance to hospital, his condition remained critical and unstable with poor blood circulation to the lower limbs. Jones had dry gangrene on the right foot and right lower leg, and had a very poor prognosis. He could not be resuscitated on the night of his death. The hospital’s back-up power generator activated as it was meant to, but a power spike occurred which affected the gas-generating system. Patients who were on ventilators were resuscitated manually, and after the magnitude of the problem was assessed by the hospital management and staff, including the medical superintendent, Dr Collin Gariseb, the transfer of the other six ICU patients was arranged. Angula reported that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had submitted its final report on its assessment of medical gas systems in State hospitals on February 11. A task team appointed by the permanent secretary has developed draft preliminary measures – immediate, short- and long-term – to address the shortcomings of the system. Angula said once these measures are put in place, there will be a comprehensive plan to solve the current problems. He said the infrastructure at the Windhoek Central Hospital is very old, with the water pipe system, the electrical cabling, and other structures are in critical need of a complete overhaul.
