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DENOSA urges hospital and clinic management to ensure stand-by generators are functioning during this load-shedding period
Media statement
Monday, 11 February 2019
With the announcement by power utility Eskom of stages 2 and 4 of load shedding countrywide today alone, the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) would like to urge all CEOs and management of hospitals and clinics throughout the country to ensure that back-up generators are well-maintained and fully serviced as many health facilities may get affected by power outages.
In previous experiences where load shedding was announced, many facilities, especially those in the rural areas, were caught unprepared and health workers lost patients because generators could not kick in as soon as load shedding in their areas was effected.
DENOSA makes this call because health workers encounter difficulties at work where patients’ lives easily get lost, especially in critical units such as maternity, ICU and paediatric.
Therefore, functionality of generators in our health facilities is, no pun intended, a matter of life and death for our patients.
DENOSA calls on all its shop stewards and members to be extra vigilant and report cases where generators are not repaired in facilities where they work, because this could spell disaster for many patients.
End
Issued by the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA)
For more information and comment, contact:
Cassim Lekhoathi, DENOSA Acting General Secretary
Mobile: 082 328 9671
Or
Simon Hlungwani, DENOSA President
Mobile: 082 328 9635
Website: www.denosa.org.za
Facebook: DENOSA National Page
Twitter: @DENOSAORG
