A general view of Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital on 28 April 2020 in Soweto. Photo: Gallo Images/Sydney Seshibedi
In Johannesburg, City Power can only exempt 10 healthcare facilities out of the 130 the department of health had put on its list, following a crescendo of calls for hospitals and clinics to be turned into load shedding-free zones. spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the department had asked them to consider ways to exempt facilities from load shedding “because of the pressures they feel as they render a critical service to the residents”.
“Those we managed to exempt include Parkhurst Municipal Clinic, Johannesburg Eye Hospital, Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital, and Helen Joseph Hospital.”This follows a request from the Health Professions Council of South Africa and a petition from Professor Adam Mohamed, head of internal medicine at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, and the South African Medical Association.
He also said load shedding put a strain on both hospital equipment – which is already aged – and patients’ lives. “They can do it because the current grid is integrated and it’s really very configured,” he said. “So, can they do it? Theoretically, yes. Will they do it? No, because they’re too useless to do anything.”