‘Levy Hospital not short of oxygen’

By KALOBWE BWALYA LUSAKA’S Levy Mwanawasa Teaching Hospital has enough piped oxygen supply and back up cylinders to its Covid patients and also to supply to all other patients in the wards, says Senior Medical Superintendent Dr Parthians Tembo. Dr Tembo however said, people should stay away from the hospital as it was a highly …

‘Levy Hospital not short of oxygen’
By KALOBWE BWALYA LUSAKA’S Levy Mwanawasa Teaching Hospital has enough piped oxygen supply and back up cylinders to its Covid patients and also to supply to all other patients in the wards, says Senior Medical Superintendent Dr Parthians Tembo. Dr Tembo however said, people should stay away from the hospital as it was a highly infectious place being a Covid centre. In an interview yesterday, Dr Tembo however explained that, the hospital has an oxygen plant which can supply oxygen at a certain capacity or level, then later drops off. Dr Tembo said the new hospital came with a new oxygen plant and that was what was currently helping the facility to supply oxygen to people in critical condition and to other patients in other wards. He said, the hospital has also back up cylinders in case of power disruption, oxygen concentrators that can supply oxygen to individual patients when connected to power. He however said, all these measures had been put by government to ensure that the hospital continued running smoothly as well as saving the lives of many people especially in the midst of the pandemic. “Levy Mwanawasa Teaching Hospital has an oxygen plant which generates oxygen for patients and that has really helped the hospital to attend to patients as the plant runs 24/7, but that should not comfort people that they should be reckless because the oxygen supply is too expensive therefore people should stay home to avoid contracting the virus,” Dr Tembo said. Meanwhile, Dr Tembo disclosed that the rehabilitation on the old wing would start in March. Dr Tembo however said, because of Covid, the works maybe delayed, but it is earmarked to start in March. Dr Tembo disclosed that once the works are done, non Covid patients would be accommodated in the old facility so that it creates room for Covid patients at the new hospital.