Advanced respirators delivered to hospitals for severe COVID cases
ROC Central News Agency
07/10/2021 01:53 PM
Taipei, July 10 (CNA) A total of 550 new high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) machines, an oxygen supply system used in hospitals, have been delivered to 97 hospitals across Taiwan to enable them to treat patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms more effectively, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said on Friday.
The delivery of HFNC machines comes as the death toll from COVID-19 cases in Taiwan has risen to more than 700 out of more than 15,000 confirmed cases, making its death rate per million people 31, which is much higher than the single digit figures seen in neighboring countries Singapore, China and Vietnam, according to the website worldometer.
Among the equipment, 500 were purchased by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) at NT$100 million (US$3.6 million), while 50 were donated by the supplier, said CECC Spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥).
The machines are highly-prized by hospitals because they can perform better than regular respirators, and can be used 11,000 times in total, Chuang said.
According to Ku Shih-chi (古世基), a National Taiwan University Hospital doctor and member with the Taiwan Society of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, who helped with HFNC distribution, the machines were delivered in two stages.
The first 200 machines were given to major hospitals in the Greater Taipei area, such as Far Eastern Memorial Hospital and Shuang-Ho Hospital, where many severe COVID-19 patients have been treated, Ku said.
In the second stage of delivery, the rest of the machines mostly went to MOHW-supervised hospitals based on their medical capacity, he explained.
According to the MOHW, among all hospitals, the Taoyuan General Hospital under the MOHW received the highest number of HFNC machines, or 48.
The ministry's Taipei Hospital and Tainan Hospital followed with 42 and 30, respectively, it said.
In addition, the three outlying counties of Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu were also given the machines, the ministry said.
According to health workers, the HFNC devices not only allow awake prone positioning for patients suffering breathing difficulties but also allows them to eat without help, thereby reducing the chance of infections for nurses.
Tan Che-Kim (陳志金), a doctor who works in the Intensive Care Unit at Chi Mei Hospital, said HFNC can also help avoid intubation for patients and improve case survival rates. Intubations are considered one of the riskiest medical procedures for medical staff because it's an open mouth procedure and raises their chances of getting infected by patients.
The HFNC first drew public attention in mid-June when Taiwanese entertainer Jia Yong-jie (賈永婕) donated hundreds of such devices to hospitals through a fundraiser.
(By Chang Ming-hsuan, Chiang Hui-chun and Lee Hsin-Yin)
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