This week, the Health Minister, Dr. Joe Phaahla, will provide a full report on the effect of load shedding and steps to be taken by health institutions, as the nation has experienced more severe power outages over the last several weeks.
This comes after the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) requested that hospitals and clinics be exempted from load shedding.
“Minister of Health, Dr. Joe Phaahla has been concerned for some time with this matter of load shedding with the hope that it improves, but it has gotten worse to higher levels of 5 and 6 as it impacts on the provision of healthcare services across the country,” the statement read on Monday.
According to the department, the Minister has asked the Director-General to engage with provincial department heads to complete the impact assessment within the past week.
In the meantime, the department said that the Minister is in discussion with the necessary authorities and organisations, including the Minister of Public Enterprises, Eskom, and municipalities, about the procedures to be followed in order to exempt health institutions from load shedding.
“In addition, the Minister has been working on alternative additional sources over above the generators, which are not meant for prolonged outages to seek additional supply of power to be considered for installation in the health facilities to complement the generators as part of the energy mix.”
On Friday, September 30, 2022, the Minister is anticipated to update the media on the interventions that would be implemented.
In his Heritage Day statement, President Ramaphosa said that the nation has seen an increase in load shedding over the last two weeks, which is disturbing lives, the economy, and social and health services.
However, he assured the public that the administration was addressing the situation head-on.
The President cut short his international tour last week to deal with the Eskom power crisis.
“Even as we face these challenges as South Africans as we have done in the past. We have persevered and I ask once again, let us persevere,” he said on Saturday.
“The challenge is being addressed. It’s a complex one and we will be speaking soon about the various measures that we are taking to make sure that we address this challenge.”