Health MECs from different provinces have expressed concerns over the continuous and lengthy power cuts. They said that some hospitals were being forced to switch off some critical areas that require power all the time as this puts pressure on the generators. Health MEC's have pleaded with Eskom to exempt hospitals from power cuts but only 70 health care facilities were exempted. The rest of the hospitals in the country suffers due to this.

RELIANCE ON BACK-UP

Addressing the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) ministerial briefing themed 'Mitigating the negative impact of load shedding in the provision of healthcare services, health MEC's expressed their budget frustrations stating that what was allocated to them could only stretch to a certain extent. Western Cape Health MEC Dr Nomafrench Mbombo said: "There's no new money for us to pay for the diesel, just like there's no new money for the generators, power cuts have put many facilities under pressure, with no additional budget for diesel."  The provincial and national health departments now have to  come up with strategies like solar and UPS systems to help the hundreds of affected health facilities. Limpopo Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba said water pressure is also affected by lack of power and this is an addition to pressure that is experienced in theatres. "We need our air conditioners on at all times in operational rooms Our chiller plants don't only require power energy some of the equipment in our theatres, they need more water pressure. It becomes difficult for the staffers to execute their jobs without getting frustrated, "she said. 

EXEMPT MORE HOSPITALS

There's about 400 hospitals and clinics in the country yet out of this number, only 77 were exempted from loadshedding. This is according to the South African Medical Association (SAMA). SAMA said not even the largest hospital in the continent Chris Hani Academic hospital was exempted it has a back lock of surgeries which can take up to 2026 to be completed. "This is happening when the hospital reports more than 11,000 surgery backlogs, with a waiting list purported to be running up till December 2026," SAMA said. Recent reports note that the Covid-19 lockdowns have led to delays in elective surgery and screening. This has set the country back in terms of early detection and diagnosis of various ailments, such as heart attacks, diabetes, and cancers. Even the progress made in the fight against HIV/Aids has been set back by the pandemic." SAMA said the impact on the loss of lives due to load-shedding is unknown, and perhaps shrouded in secrecy in case the government is litigated by citizens who have been robbed of quality care.