UCH Ibadan fortifies critical care with state-of-the-art Liquid Oxygen plant - NaijaAgroNet

The University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, has taken a major step toward bolstering its critical care infrastructure with the commissioning of a new, state-of-the-art Liquid Oxygen (LOX) plant, NaijaAgroNet reports.

The facility is designed to guarantee an uninterrupted supply of medical oxygen across the tertiary hospital’s intensive and emergency units.

The initiative was funded by the Global Fund through the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) as part of the post-COVID-19 health system strengthening initiatives, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.

Speaking at the official commissioning ceremony, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of UCH, Prof. Jesse Abiodun Otegbayo, commended the Global Fund, NACA, and the Federal Ministry of Health for their unwavering support toward advancing healthcare delivery for the hospital's growing patient population.

“Oxygen is life,” Prof. Otegbayo declared. “This facility will enable us to operate more efficiently, increase departmental productivity, reduce patient turnaround time, and ultimately save more lives.”

Prof. Otegbayo emphasized that the new plant marks another vital milestone in the hospital management’s commitment to modernizing infrastructure and ensuring sustainable, high-quality medical care.

Providing technical details, the Head of the Instrumentation Department at UCH, Engr. Afolabi Opadotun, noted that the facility was delivered in two consignments; comprising a 10,000-liter tank paired with 765 cylinders, and a 7,000-liter tank paired with 500 cylinders.

Engr. Opadotun confirmed that the installation will drastically improve patient care by providing a reliable, high-capacity oxygen stream to critical care wards, eliminating supply bottlenecks during emergencies.

Gbemi Omotose/Editor