The Chief of Staff, Madam Akosua Frema Osei-Opare has launched a national policy to ensure the production and provision of medical oxygen to various health facilities across the country.
The policy by the Ministry of Health will establish a framework and develop a strategy that would scale up production, availability, access and use of oxygen.
The chief of staff, in her address, said per the new policy, hospitals would be constructed with adequate facilities for medical oxygen supply, distribution and delivery to patients. While existing facilities would be equipped with the needed equipment to achieve the objectives of the policy.
The Minister of Health, Hon. Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, said the availability and supply of oxygen to patients was inadequate.
The COVID-19 pandemic, he said, had increased medical oxygen demand by about three to sevenfold, hence, the need to strengthen the health system to make it more resilient and responsive by progressively developing capacity in the production of key inputs, including medical oxygen.
Hon. Agyeman-Manu further said studies had shown that improved supply and utilisation of medical oxygen could reduce mortality from childhood pneumonia by 35 per cent.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/Kwabena Nyarko Abronoma
