Durban - After several engagements with relevant authorities in municipalities and entities involved in power supply and load shedding, Eskom and the Department of Health reported on Friday that there was progress in excluding hospitals and other health-care facilities across the country from load shedding.
Harry Gwala Regional Hospital (formerly Edendale), Greys Hospital, Ladysmith Hospital, Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital, RK Khan Hospital, Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, McCord Hospital, King Dinuzulu Hospital, Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital, Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, Osindisweni Hospital, St Aidan’s Hospital, Addington Hospital and Clairwood Hospital, were among the hospitals in the province excluded from load shedding.
Health Minister Joe Phaahla, in a virtual meeting, said the persistent power outages had reduced the lifespan of critical medical machinery and equipment, including back-up generators.
“These unpredictable prolonged power outages which are at higher stages of load shedding, pose a threat to the safety and efficacy of various medications and vaccines which need to be stored within specific temperatures,” said Paahla. He was further concerned that security at health facilities was compromised during load shedding times, especially in the evening.
“Although there are no reported cases or incidents of criminal activities, health-care workers feel vulnerable and don’t feel safe to move between their residences and other sections of the health facilities during the blackouts,” said the minister.
Paahla added that although the majority of public health facilities had back-up power supply systems, which included generators and uninterruptible power supplies, he said these alternative sources of energy were not designed to provide back-up electricity for a long period. “Some of these generators are old, while others haven’t the necessary capacity to power the entire facility.
Generators have been proven to not adequately meet the increasing demands during load shedding in health facilities, hence some hospitals are left without choice and are forced to switch off some critical areas, which compromised patient care. The minister said the Health Ministry had developed a multifaceted strategy for immediate, short and long-term implementation.
Engagements which took place between the department, Eskom and municipalities resulted in an agreement that the provincial departments would submit consolidated lists of facilities needing exemptions.
“There are two sets of area differentiation in power supply, the urban (mainly connected by municipalities) and rural (mainly connected by Eskom). These dictate the technical methods to exempt the facility from load shedding.
In cases of Eskom direct connection, they will directly exempt the facilities and in case of municipality connection, they will install a dedicated feeder line that kicks in to keep power in the facility once the municipality’s load shedding schedule takes place,” said Paahla.
“The exemptions do not mean the facilities should use electricity without limitations. We have made it clear to Eskom that we have joined their call to ensure that even our health facilities use electricity sparingly, productively and purposefully at all times.”
The Hospital Association of South Africa, the representative organisation for most of the country’s private hospital groups, welcomed the efforts being made by the minister to request the exemption of hospitals from load shedding
SUNDAY TRIBUNE