Dr. Davidson is a specialist in Anaesthesiology and head of the Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Unit at Lacor Hospital. He is married with three children. Dr. Davidson says that although Lacor’s equipment may not be ultra-modern, it is generally still useful. But the hospital needs to upgrade areas to avoid time-consuming procedures. For instance, a single Tetanus patient can consume 42 cylinders of oxygen, which need to be filled 360km away in the capital; this is a significant burden without taking into consideration the risks involved.
In the past, installation and maintenance requirements of a medical gas plant were almost insurmountable. Times have changed and the hospital management has approved the purchase and installation of an oxygen production and distribution system to areas such as the operating block, Intensive Care Unit, and the Acute Care Unit in the Children’s Ward.
An electronic database for anaesthesia in theatre and in Accident & Emergency (the Casualty Department in Lacor), in addition to the current ICU database, would also greatly improve effisiency, even though the hospital faces huge challenges in finding adequate specific software programs that can be adapted and maintained effectively in low resource settings.
Dr. Davidson would also like to have more monitors for the control of heart, blood pressure and other vital signs in theatre and ICU; monitors are currently missing from two of the six operating theatres.
Different equipment is always needed in hospitals, and although Lacor is grateful for and welcomes donated equipment, its integration is often challenging. Adequate training of staff, lack of user manuals, availability and supply of spare parts and consumables, and adequate facilities for running and maintenance are much more challenging with donated equipment than with locally purchased equipment, which has the significant advantage of sales services and spare parts.
According to the WHO, more than half of medical equipment donated to Africa no longer functions within 6 months of donation. That’s why it is important to consult the hospital on its need and capacity for operating specific equipment before considering a donation of hospital equipment. Furthermore, donated medical equipment resembles an iceberg: the cost of purchase and expedition is the visible emerged part, but year after year the hospital must face the additional submerged costs for equipment maintenance.
