Kano State Government says it will establish an oxygen plant with support of development partners to serve healthcare facilities across the 44 local government areas.
Dr Nasiru Kabo, Director-General, Kano State Hospitals Management Board, made this known at the inauguration of a 4-day refresher training exercise for biomedical engineers, technicians and health maintenance officers, on Tuesday in Kano.
Kabo said the training was vital in view of the importance of having sufficient oxygen plants in state owned healthcare facilities.“Oxygen is considered life, so much that it has now been classified among essential drugs,” he said.
He said the state government in partnership with an NGO, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) had distributed oxygen cylinders and other consumables to various hospitals in the state.
The DG tasked the participants to cultivate maintenance culture to optimise the use of oxygen cylinders in health facilities in the state.Kabo said the state government had set up an oxygen committee comprising experts in the medical field, adding that the committee was saddled with the responsibility of coordinating all issues surrounding availability of oxygen.
He applauded Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje for his commitment towards strengthening healthcare system through huge investments, provision of physical structures and equipment.
In his presentation, Dr Abdullahi Dahiru, Director, Hospitals Services of the Board, said the exercise was designed to build the capacity of biomedical engineers and technicians.
Dahiru said the exercise would expose the participants to the national and state policy on oxygen security, and provide update on the planned preventive maintenance.
He said that the participants were also expected to repair 94 faulty oxygen equipment across the secondary health facilities in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 4-day training exercise was attended by management staff, personnel of the board and members of the State Committee on Oxygen. (NAN)
