Use generators whenever there’s dumsor – Ghanaina Hospitals told
Dr. Bernard Okoe-Boye, the Health Minister-designate, has urged health facilities to utilize alternative power sources, particularly generators, in response to recent power supply disruptions.
His advice follows calls for exempting health facilities from intermittent power cuts due to their detrimental effects on healthcare delivery.
Speaking during a press briefing at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Okoe-Boye addressed concerns of neglect towards the health sector and encouraged objective discussion.
He emphasized that hospitals, as integral parts of the country, are affected by national challenges.
Stressing the importance of preparedness, Dr. Okoe-Boye highlighted the necessity for hospitals to have reliable backup power sources such as generator sets to ensure uninterrupted patient care during power outages.
He said “Because someone did a video of one minute, and 40 seconds and said lights have gone out, everybody goes emotional. The truth is that, if the country experiences some issues with power availability, hospitals are not outside the country, they will also experience some.
“Another truth is that most of our hospitals have standby power plants, but just like management of a house, you can go to a house, they have a generator but maybe the generator has an issue.”
“The one to put in petrol has an issue. Let’s stick to the essentials. Let’s ask a hospital, how is your generator? Is it working? If it’s not working, have you approached the ministry? If it’s working, who was in charge? Why didn’t you make it work? I don’t want to go into the details. We should not get sensational. Let’s stick to the essentials.
“If we want to discuss power supply in hospitals and standby generators, let’s discuss it. That is the way to make progress. You can do an audit, in Accra, there are 40 government hospitals, out of the 40, about thirty have power plants. Ten don’t have. Doctor, what are you doing about it? That is the way to make progress,” Dr. Okoe-Boye added.
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The recent power outages disrupt normal business operations, especially for industries reliant on electricity. Hospitals, Manufacturing plants, IT firms, and service providers all face challenges when electricity supply is unreliable.
Production schedules get disrupted, leading to delays in delivery and loss of revenue.
Source: PulseGhana
