Premature babies at Lira Regional Referral Hospital may soon have a safer journey to intensive care after hospital engineers developed a locally made baby transporter that provides oxygen during the critical transfer from the labour suite or theatre to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
The innovation is intended to address one of the critical challenges in neonatal care at the hospital, where premature and critically ill babies are at risk of deterioration while being moved to the NICU, particularly when transfers are delayed or the newborns lack adequate oxygen support.
The transporter, developed by the hospital’s Engineering Department, is fitted with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) oxygen cylinders to provide babies with oxygen during the transfer, helping maintain continuity of care until they reach the NICU.
Dr. William Onyai, the Senior Consultant Paediatrician, welcomes the innovation, saying it will improve the prognosis of newborns and reduce the risk of brain damage and other life-threatening complications that can occur when premature babies experience inadequate oxygen during transportation.
He says the innovation is particularly important given the vulnerability of premature babies, who require close monitoring and uninterrupted support from the time of delivery until they are admitted to the NICU.
By URN
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