Walvis Bay hospital receives mobile ICU

The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) has received a N.dollars 20 million mobile intensive care unit (ICU) for the Walvis Bay State Hospital, donated by the United States Embassy on Monday. The five-bed self-sufficient structure is designed to provide the ministry with the ability to not only serve the local population of the harbour town, but also deploy the ICU to other locations in response to a possible medical crisis. It is stocked with N.dollars 600 000 worth of medicine to ensure the ICU is ready for operations. In his acceptance speech, MoHSS Executive Director Ben Nangombe emphasised the importance of well- equipped and functional ICU facilities, adding that they are the backbone of any hospital. He said the facility will not only bolster the ministry's response to the current health challenges, but will also serve as a vital resource to address and effectively respond to medical and health emergencies whenever they occur. 'Through the deployment of this facility, three key areas in healthcare services will be strengthened. These include the critical role of ICU infrastructure; a skilled and capacitated health workforce, and the comprehensive training for our future medical professionals,' he expressed. In her remarks, US Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Tiffany Miller stated that by partnering with Namibia to enhance critical baseline medical infrastructure, the country enhances the nation's health security. 'It also enables Namibia to respond to potential future pandemics as well as health emergencies and natural disasters, which positively affects the region as a whole,' she noted. The donation in Walvis Bay is part of a larger medical infrastructure donation package valued at over N.dollars 130 million that will be spread across four regions in Namibia, which is the largest donation by the US Department of Defence's Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster and Civic Aid Programme to Namibia since its independence and signifies the commitment of the American people to help ensure every Namibi an has access to medical care. A team of Namibian personnel including doctors and nurses from the MoHSS were trained in all aspects of the system set up as well as the individual pieces of medical equipment within the ICU. Source: The Namibia Press Agency