Neonatal Care : Oxygen Concentrators Slash Mortality Rate

“When any patient - adult or baby - with respiratory difficulties is placed on an oxygen concentrator, relatives heave a big sigh of relief because this is the surest way to keep them alive. No one refuses it! It is not like blood transfusion which some people reject for religious reasons,” explains Dr Fokouo Valentin, an Ear, Nose and Throat, ENT Specialist and Medical Adviser to the Bertoua Regional Hospital in Cameroon’s East Region. In the late afternoon sunlight in front of the hospital on September 29, 2022. Dr Fokouo also heads the hospital’s COVID-19 Treatment Unit.

Lifeline For Premature, Underweight Babies
“Bertoua Regional Hospital is the only reference hospital in the East Region,” Dr Fokouo reminds the group of media tour journalists. “Amongst the cases referred to us are premature and underweight-at-birth babies. If they manage to get to us, we immediately place them in neonatal care. What kills such babies most is cold and lack of oxygen. We are therefore so grateful for the oxygen concentrators and accessories offered by the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF under the project financed by the United States Agency for International Development, USAID,” the ENT specialist adds.

Neonatal Deaths Curbed
“The material arrived after the COVID-19 pandemic had hit the peak. Some of it was redeployed in other wards where there was great need. Before the arrival of the oxygen concentrators in neonatal care, six out of 10 babies lost their lives for lack of oxygen. Today, only two out of 10 babies in the service die – a reduction of 40 per cent! We are grateful to the Cameroonian government, USAID and UNICEF for the gift of the high quality healthcare equipment,” Dr Valentin appreciates with a broad smile. The Ministry of Public Health organised training for three of our nurses on the use of the donated equipment. They have in turn trained other hospital staff to ensure that the donation is used properly.

Gradual Use Of Precious Equipment
Before UNICEF’s four oxygen concentrators arrived, the hospital had also received other concentrators from the government and partners. The concentrators are put into use gradually, while the rest are kept in the warehouse. “Oxygen concentrators are fragile and expensive equipment that have to be used with much caution. Before the advent of COVID-19, oxygen concentrators were rare to come by,” the Medical Adviser reveals.

Broken Down Concentrators
Prior to UNICEF’s donation, the hospital had about 14 concentrators offered by different partners. “Unfortunately, frequent power outages have destroyed a good number of them, despite the use of voltage regulators. For those that have broken down, we are unable to repair. So far, almost 10 concentrators have broken down,” Dr Fokouo discloses. In spite of the number of oxygen concentrators received, he warns that the number is still not enough.

Added Project Value
The added value of the project is that the donated oxygen concentrators were initially meant for COVID-19 treatment, but some are now used in other units where patients are hospitalised. “Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, Bertoua Regional Hospital has received 320 patients in the COVID-19 unit, but we lost 85. Patients with respiratory difficulties made up two-thirds of the 320 patients (about 213). All of the 85 patients who died had respiratory problems,” Dr Valentin discloses.

Bertoua Regional Hospital Is First!
"According to the recent national classification of COVID-19 treatment units, Bertoua Regional Hospital comes first in terms of healthcare quality, the number of lives saved compared to the number of oxygen concentrators received…! This is partly attributed to the offer by UNICEF of oxygen concentrators,” he adds with an air of pride.

USAID Support
The 12-month “Pr...