Dear Editor
Following the recent devastating and prolonged rolling blackouts which South Africa had to endure, the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness is currently underway with a project to supply 25 facilities with inverters in order safeguard them against irregular electricity supply.
This means that healthcare will be further unhindered by insufficient power supply and that patients in our care will continue to receive the quality services our province has to offer.
I will also be submitting parliamentary questions to ascertain the facilities participating in the project as well as the relevant costs involved.
Rolling blackouts pose a serious risk to service delivery in our society, especially that of our healthcare sector. In hospitals and other facilities, there are various instruments that are sensitive to operational changes and cannot be switched on or off like one does with a light bulb. These pieces of equipment require a constant supply of electricity in order to be functionable and there are many lives which quite literally dependent on them.
MPP Wendy Kaizer-Philander says: “This is why the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (NERSA) decision not to exempt health care facilities from rolling blackouts is concerning and exposes the national government’s priorities, or rather the lack thereof.
However, in the Western Cape, we are fortunate to have a provincial government that is caring and understanding. The Provincial Disaster Management Forum meets on a regular basis to engage with electricity suppliers so that hospitals are spared from blackouts as much as possible. In the metropole where possible, the City of Cape Town has also been assisting tertiary hospitals such as Tygerberg Hospital, Groote Schuur Hospital and Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital.
These examples are a result of competent and responsible DA governance, and we look forward to even more progress being made in this regard.”
Regards
Wendy Kaizer-Philander, MPP
DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Health
