DA raises concern about power outages at hospitals

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in KZN has raised concerns about the Department of Health’s (DOH) ability to handle extended power outages at hospitals within the province.

The concern arose after the Catherine Booth Hospital on the North Coast experienced no power for two days at the weekend, allegedly due to electrical repair work that was being conducted by Eskom. Fortunately, the power has since been restored to the hospital.

DA spokesperson on health, Dr Rishigen Viranna, said: “The situation led to the hospital’s contingency plan being effected which included the activation of the power generator.

“However, when diesel for the generator began to run low, additional supplies were procured but could not be delivered. This after certain community members blocked the service provider from accessing the facility on the basis that he was not a local resident,” he said.

“While the DA regards the actions of these individuals as deplorable, the reality is that the hospital and the DOH should have been better prepared,” he said.

Democratic Alliance calls for MEC to probe hospital power outage

He said KZN Health MEC, Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu, had responded to the DA’s questions relating to provisions made for power outages at KZN’s hospitals.

“In her written parliamentary reply the MEC assured the DA that her department had the situation under control with several measures being implemented. This includes provisions to ensure that all hospitals have sufficient diesel storage capacity to see them through outages,” he said.

Viranna called for Simelane-Zulu and her department to investigate the events at Catherine Booth Hospital and to provide the health portfolio committee with a full explanation.

A spokesperson for the department of health responded to the concerns: “The DA must really be desperate for publicity. There’s nothing much that the department could’ve done when the community blocked the service provider.”