Photo | Kevin Yego.
Many hospitals in Kenya continue to struggle with shortages of vital medical equipment such as dialysis machines, devices for managing apnea in children among others.
According to the Ministry of Health (MoH), the availability of basic medical equipment stands at 77 percent nationally while only 24 percent of health facilities have all basic medical equipment.
The shortage of medical equipment remains a challenge both in public and private hospitals, resulting in poor health outcomes and increased mortality.
Allmed Medical Supplies Limited is stepping in to help close this gap by supplying hospitals and clinics with reliable and affordable healthcare tools.
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The company provides a wide range of products, including renal care machines, neonatal equipment and hospital consumables. These machines are used to treat patients with kidney problems and to support newborns who need close medical attention.
Charity Vushuru, the company’s Biomedical Engineer, told JEDCA Media that there’s a huge shortage of medical equipment especially for critical care. She pointed out that many children are now born pre-term which puts a lot of pressure on nurses.
“We noticed that there is a gap whereby mothers are now staying in the hospitals for a long time after giving birth because right now we are having a lot of pre-term and nurses are getting overwhelmed. We sought to supply Apnea machines because it will support the nurses,” Vushuru said.
“I want to see the death rates among children reduce as much as possible,” she added.
Apnea in children is a condition where a child’s breathing is interrupted during sleep, most commonly due to a blockage in the upper airway.
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Some of the symptoms include snoring, gasping, pauses in breathing, restless sleep, and daytime issues like hyperactivity, irritability, or difficulty concentrating. If untreated apnea can lead to serious health problems like poor growth, cardiovascular issues and learning difficulties.
Speaking during the ongoing WHX Expo at Kenyatta International Convention Center (KICC), Vushuru said the company also has other medical equipment including body composition analyser, biomedical liquid waste management system and renal machines and maintenance.
