Breathing life into the Eastern Cape

Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers has distributed 870 of the 9,000 continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices, which uses mild air pressure to keep airways open, in the Covid-19 ravaged Eastern Cape.

According to the organisation’s project manager, Ali Sablay, the majority of the devices, which each cost R2,000, were distributed in the Bhisho area, with the remaining batch to be distributed to nine hospitals and emergency services in the province.

The devices were produced by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), approved by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPR) and funded by the Solidarity Fund.

“Requests have been pouring in from hospitals overrun by patients requiring oxygen delivery. The CPAP machines are dependent on reliable oxygen infrastructure at hospitals and clinics.

“Ambulances are also receiving the machines as oxygen can be delivered from oxygen cylinders whilst rushing patients to oxygen facilities,” said Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, founder of Gift of the Givers.

He said the device was the culmination of calls for proposals by the SA National Ventilator Group, South African Radio Astronomy Observatory and department of trade and industry earlier in the year to design continuous positive airway pressure machines.

“We now have a truly SA oxygen delivery machine that suits our current needs, a machine that is essentially mechanical and not electronic, easy to use, practical and highly effective.

“We appreciate the opportunity to distribute 12,000 of these machines free to everyone on the Eastern Cape health group and nationwide. We’ve tested them with our medical teams and the feedback is unanimous,” Sooliman said.

He said in dealing with the severity of the second Covid-19 wave, the CPAP machines could not have come at a more opportune time.

According to a hospital admission analysis conducted by health risk management services firm Medscheme, while Eastern and Western Cape seem to be at or past their peak, KwaZulu Natal, Gauteng and Limpopo showed a daily 8% average increase of hospital admissions in week 52 of 2020.

– siphom@citizen.co.za

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