The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has been tasked to conduct a due diligence study on rolling out solar energy to health facilities countrywide, with implementation expected to begin as soon as June or July this year.
The Western Cape, however, is already a step ahead, last month launching its first phase of installing alternative energy sources in provincial clinics. Health Department spokesperson Mark van der Heever said phase one of the R81m project began in March, targeted at installing hybrid inverters in 51 clinics.
Phase two will begin after the completion of phase one, and provide back-up power to another 70 facilities, reports TimesLIVE.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Joe Phaala said the national plan is to set up solar energy and battery storage as back-up supply to all clinics, community heath centres, hospitals, emergency medical centres and forensic laboratories, reports The Mercury.
The CSIR’s focus is to identify the required consumption for critical areas of the facilities, so a comprehensive business plan could be compiled to help the department justify the required budget, he added.
Between April 2022 and March this year, public hospitals had spent more than half a billion rands on diesel just to keep the lights on during power, and while R372 242 000 had initially been budgeted for diesel during this financial year, this had increased to R666 655 000 when the Budget was adjusted.
Phaala said various kits of inverters/batteries would be considered for the clinics and community health centres.
Clinics are the backbone of strong health systems due to their emphasis on preventive health, but with the constant blackouts and power outages, they became the epicentres of infection as ventilation equipment and the quality of vaccines needing cold storage are compromised.
“Unlike solar panels, inverters are not easy to steal,” added Phaahla. They can be stored in a lockable room with burglar bars and strict access control.”
Also under scrutiny would be specific areas that could be funded by donors, like USAID and others who would be interested to partner with the national Department of Health.
Phaahla said the CSIR’s due diligence study was expected to be completed at the end of April.
“The expected start date of the roll-out of the solar energy programme is June, depending on the availability of funding from the national state of disaster centre. The completion date is will be informed by the detailed analysis by CSIR,” he said.
The Western Cape Department has said apart from the hybrid inverter systems, solar power will also be provided to at least 15 hospitals.
Van der Heever said it was hoped both phases would be completed between now and March 2024.
“The nature of the project means timelines can shift earlier or later, depending on various issues. However, both phases of all 121 clinics are expected to be completed before the end of the financial year, at the end of March 2024.”
While none of the clinics closes during blackouts, many experience significant delays, including prescription of medication – mostly issued electronically. Telephone lines, ambulance bookings and alarms in clinics are also severely affected.
The rural primary healthcare hybrid inverter initiative, which has added back-up power to three clinics, “will ensure uninterrupted health services by keeping crucial technology and equipment functional to meet the community’s essential primary healthcare requirements”.
These include:
• IT equipment for dispensing medicine and handling patient information;
• Fridges for vaccines and medicine storage;
• Ventilation equipment at TB facilities;
• Consultation instrumentation; and
• Voice-over internet protocol, which allow facilities to be contactable.
Head of department Dr Keith Cloete said: “While we acknowledge this money could have been directed elsewhere, we cannot let our clients go without receiving essential health services just because a facility does not have electricity.”
While all provincial hospitals have diesel generators, the solar power is expected to reduce demand from generators. Only 10 of the provincial hospitals are exempted from load shedding.
Western Cape Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo said: “Over the past year, blackouts have intensified significantly. We have had only one day without blackouts this year. It is a direct threat to the delivery of healthcare services in the Western Cape. This is why we are pushing ahead with these initiatives, as we cannot sit back and wait for this issue to be resolved.”
TimesLIVE article – Immune to blackouts: Western Cape rural clinics to get inverters (Open access)
The Mercury PressReader article – Plan for solar panels at health facilities (Open access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Solar panel back-up possible for state hospitals
State ‘must provide uninterrupted power’ to hospitals, court hears
Healthcare workers tell of the devastating toll of rolling power cuts