ABOUT 60 % OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENTS ARE DESTROYED BY RATS- EXPERT

“I can tell you that rats destroy up to 60% of health
equipment in Africa,” Ssali said
Much of the damage to expensive diagnostic equipment in
African health facilities is a result of bites from rats, a
Ugandan consultant biomedical engineer revealed on
Monday.
Eng. Joseph Ssali, who holds vast experience in
installation of health equipment in hospitals across the
continent, told delegates at a conference in Kampala that
rats are the worst enemies of the devices.
“I can tell you that rats destroy up to 60% of health
equipment in Africa,” Ssali said at the first Biennial
National Uganda National Biomedical Engineering
Conference at Hotel Africa on Monday.
Ssali sought to highlight the dangers that exist when
biomedical engineers are not consulted in the
management of health equipment including x-rays and CT
scans.
For instance, he narrated, cables of a CT scan installed at
one unnamed facility were eaten up by rats, costing the
institution over $5,000 to replace.
Biomedical engineers are professionals who maintain and
repair machines for diagnosing medical problems. They
design medical equipment and devices, artificial internal
organs or synthetic body parts.
In Africa, the profession is relatively new-just about 10
years old in Uganda, it has been in existence in the
developed world for nearly half a century.
Without biomedical engineers, the functioning of health
equipment would be at stake and costs of hiring experts to
maintain them or procure new equipment would be
unmanageable.
According to Ssali, it is common practice for health
institutions to procure machines and install them in
facilities without consulting biomedical engineers, raising
potential risks to patients or caregivers.
“There are cases where radiation equipment has been
installed next to antenatal rooms, which is dangerous.
Consideration not made to patient safety,” he explains.
Equipment that emit radiation require careful assessment
of numerous factors including: location, including room
size, wall thickness, power supply and patient safety, Ssali
said.
The conference, held under the theme: ‘Enhancing
Healthcare through Biomedical Engineering,’ seeks to
promote biomedical engineering in Uganda and strengthen
partnerships among key players.
It also serves as an opportunity to showcase innovations
in medical equipment technology designed to help improve
health service delivery.
Experts at the two-day conference want biomedical
engineers to be involved in the planning, procurement,
installation, operation, maintenance, repair, and disposal
is of health equipment.
“We want a multi-disciplinary approach to management of
medical devices. Right now, we are called upon only when
there is a problem,” said Sam Byamukama, the secretary of
the Uganda National Association for Medical and Hospital
Engineers in an interview with New Vision.
Experts are also pushing for stronger regulation and
standards for health equipment sent to the country as
donations to ensure that they are safe and efficient.
Many health facilities in Uganda rely on health equipment
donations. Although most donations have had a positive
impact, some donations come when they are obsolete or
without supporting guidelines.
A high rate of health equipment breakdown in Uganda and
Africa came to light at the meeting, which experts blame
on inadequate training and management challenges.
Dr Robert Ssekitoleko, a lecturer of biomedical engineering
at Makerere University College of Health Sciences says
biomedical engineers need to be fully integrated in
Uganda’s health system.
He says the ministry and private health institutions are
starting to acknowledge the role of biomedical engineers
and recruiting them into service.
The ministry has traditionally recruited electrical and
mechanical engineers to maintain and repair health
equipment, often without sufficient skills in health.
Currently, there are about 50 registered biomedical
engineering graduates in Uganda. With limited funding,
much of the training for biomedical engineers relies on
donors and volunteers.
The first biomedical engineering program
SOURCE :

http://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1444200/-health-equipment-africa-destroyed-rats