BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERS TRAINING
Biomedical engineers (BMEs) play a critical role in healthcare provision, especially in ensuring the hospitals can provide lifesaving medical oxygen supplies to the patients who need it most at all times. They are responsible for repairing and maintaining a range of medical apparatus, including oxygen plants and equipment, ensuring that nurses and doctors have the equipments they need and when they need them, to effectively provide care for all patients. Nandi County has two oxygen plants stationed at Kapsabet and Nandi Hills.
Hence, the maintenance of the equipments is a key role of the BMEs. The main areas where oxygen is used in the hospital include; Intensive Care Units (ICU), theatres, wards, ambulances and home care. The Department of Health continues to equip its staff with the necessary skills to conduct their work effectively.
The BMEs has for the last four days undergone capacity building and training with Jhpiego(Rise Adhoc Program) a USAID funded organisation and oxygen experts that saw twenty Biomedical engineers drawn from Kapsabet County Referral Hospital and NandiHills SubCounty Hospital. The training aims at embracing sustainability to curb dependance and the engineers being able to carry out maintenance of the plants as per manufacturers schedule.
“We need to ensure science comes to reality in order to make the experts skillful and knowledgeable. Our mandate is to ensure oxygen is available to all patience at all times.” Said Engineer Thaddeus Ogutu, who’s an oxygen expert and a consultant having worked with WHO and HEWA TELE.
County BioMed Engineer Isaiah Kibuge, attending the training mentioned that they strive to ensure that health workers will never have to choose which life to save especially because of limited Oxygen supply. “We have installed backup systems in place to make certain that we do not interrupt the patients oxygen flow in our facilities.” he reiterated.
The intensive training handled the principles of operation of oxygen generators and refilling units. “We train the BioMeds to make them technically endowed with information so that they can train other young BioMeds and cascade down to young engineers for the continuity of information and knowledge for practise” Said Evelyn Muringo from Jhpiego.
The workshop was carried out and included site visits to the oxygen production facilities, practical sessions on equipment management and repair.