Dora Nginza without power for fourth day

Dora Nginza Hospital is in ailing health, with its power supply still cut off and staff having to rely on generators for the fourth day in a row.

Health spokesperson Dr Sizwe Kupelo said the hospital was in an emergency.

“The generators are all running,” he said.

“When it comes to diesel, we have enough until about 1pm [yesterday].

“We have arranged with Livingstone for further collection of diesel.”

Kupelo said the plan was to switch off the generators for an hour each to rest the machines and top up on gas.

“That will lead to one machine running at a time.

“We shared the schedule with unit managers.”

He said the bulk medical oxygen tank had been connected to a generator.

“We will also try to do the same for one of the kitchen fridges,” he said.

“C [Block] only had temporary repairs.

“It is holding.

“We will do the other repairs if needed during the rest period.”

The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality said earlier yesterday that the power outage affecting Dora Nginza, which started on Thursday, was due to vandalised metering and protection equipment which caused the nearby substation to trip.

Municipal spokesperson Kupido Baron said yesterday afternoon that officials were still at the hospital and working hard to reinstate the power supply.

“Work is ongoing,” he said. “We stepped in beyond our call of duty to assist the hospital following the power outage caused by cable theft, as the hospital’s service provider had difficulty restoring supply.

“[This resulted] in the hospital using emergency generators to continue treating patients unabated.

“The failed equipment malfunctioned due to the vandalism, and we replaced the damaged cable and are still on site in an effort to help the hospital,” ,” Baron said

Bay safety and security boss Stag Mitchell said a singular device remained inoperable due to burnout.

“The electricity directorate is at the hospital, diligently working to normalise the situation and ensure the full restoration of all services,” he said.

According to an internal health report, seen by The Herald, there were by the time of publication no fatalities attributable to the blackout.

The report also states that the casualty unit operated at full capacity without any reported incidents.

“Patients [are] given meals according to a schedule drawn up by the food service manager working closely with Livingstone Hospital,” the report reads.

“The mortuary [is] functional and emergency calls are made to private undertakers when there is a need to evacuate.”

According to insiders, the municipality inadvertently connected the medical wards and residences in an incorrect sequence by linking three live cables in the wrong order, causing damage to the switches.

As a result, the hospital is relying on standby generators.

“We are trying to get the correct sequence, then the blown unit will be replaced, which is just a plug-in unit, and then we will set the correct sequence,” an insider said.