LABASA Hospital’s paediatric staff previously had only one working cardiac monitor available at one point, forcing them to share equipment while caring for sick children.
The hospital’s senior medical officer Nilsen Ingrid said the shortage prompted staff to request additional monitors for the children’s service.
“We had requested these because we noticed that we do not have a lot of cardiac monitors,” she said.
Dr Ingrid said the equipment was important for children whose conditions needed to be closely watched because their health could deteriorate quickly.
“At one point, we would have one working monitor and we had to actually share resources.”
She said the monitors allowed staff to identify whether the patient could continue to be managed in the ward or needed to be transferred to the intensive care unit.
“It just helps us to better monitor kids, like if they’re getting sicker.”
She said the equipment was important for ensuring patients received appropriate monitoring while in the ward.
“The monitors can be used beyond checking a patient’s heart rate. It can be connected to a pulse oximeter to measure oxygen saturation and can also be used to take blood pressure.”
She said having more monitors would reduce the need for staff to share limited equipment. The shortage had previously meant staff had to move available monitors between patients depending on their needs.
Dr Ingrid said the request for additional equipment was aimed at improving the level of monitoring available to children receiving care at the hospital.
