Times Of Swaziland: OXYGEN DEPLETED IN SHISELWENI HEALTH FACILITIES

OXYGEN DEPLETED IN SHISELWENI HEALTH FACILITIES
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BY MELISA MSWELI on 04/01/2021 00:30:00


NHLANGANO – There are a few sealed bottles of oxygen left in health facilities
in the Shiselweni Region.
This is according to information gathered from health workers at Hlatikhulu
Government Hospital and Nhlangano Health Centre.
It was stated that some of the patients were taken to Hlatikhulu following the
limited number of available beds with oxygen.
When questioned how much oxygen was used in a week, the source stated that
though he could not state in figures, there usage of oxygen was high from
beginning of December to date, compared to the first wave.
Encouraged
Meanwhile, the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) has encouraged its
members, who are on leave and are being recalled by government back to work to
stay home.
President Bheki Mamba stated this when reacting to the reasons nurses around
different health facilities were leaving patients unattended to because they did
not have personal protective equipment (PPE).
He said they were to stay home because even the available PPE was not enough for
those nurses currently on duty. He stated that nurses from other health
facilities were still going to engage in strikes for PPE.
“They attend to the patients wearing masks only,” said Mamba.
When called for comment, the Minister of Health, Lizzie Nkosi, said she was
shocked to learn that there were health workers who were discouraged from going
to work at such a critical time.
She said she was not aware of PPE that was in shortage in health facilities as
they (facilities) would apply for it if they did not have enough.