The Gauteng Department of Health has been advised of a planned electricity outage that will affect the provision of electricity to, amongst other services, the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. The department wishes to assure the public that the delivery of health services in this hospital will not be affected.
City Power will be replacing a circuit breaker in the Soweto Primary Plant and have informed department of a planned eight hour electricity shut-down for this purpose. This planned shutdown is scheduled for the 10th March 2013 between 6h00 and 14h00.
The department will rely on its backup generators to ensure that the provision of emergency care is not affected. "I have instructed our resident engineering team that all emergency power generators be tested for readiness and that sufficient fuel and other supplies be adequately stocked for this planned outage." says the Acting Head of Department Mr. Ndoda Biyela,
He added that the department will be consulting patients about the rescheduling of non-emergency (elective) theatre procedures planned for the day. "We also urge relatives to postpone visiting the hospital on this day as generators are meant to supply energy in critical areas."
The department has recently installed new emergency power supply generators in the Hospital as part of its on-going electro-mechanical recapitalisation programme. The hospital now has a total of 14 generators that are able to carry the energy needs of one of the biggest Hospitals in the Southern Hemisphere in the event the municipal electrical supply is interrupted.
According to City Power the other areas to be affected are; Lillian Ngoyi Community Health Care Center, Power Park, Post office (GPO exchange), Dooring Kop( army base), SANTA, Saint John’s Hospital, and University of Johannesburg Compound.