Flash floods that hit Komani, Eastern Cape, last Wednesday, have destroyed generators at both of the the town’s hospitals, with patients from one facility being transferred to East London.
Jane Cowley, DA EC Shadow MEC for Health, said one generator at Frontier Hospital, which services the maternity ward, ICU and theatre, had malfunctioned, while the generator servicing the maternity unit at the privately owned Life Queenstown was also taken offline due to the flooding, and patients transferred.
"Without these generators, patients’ lives are in immediate danger. There are now no maternity facilities in the town that are operational during power outages. Surgeries cannot be performed, and babies born will not have access to additional care like incubators or ventilators,” Cowley told News24.
The Enoch Mgijimi municipality said the floods were caused by the overflow of the Komani river, with electricity infrastructure being damaged, and plunging parts of the area into darkness, reports TimesLIVE.
Cowley said she has written to Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan asking that Komani immediately be exempted from load shedding for 72 hours, or until the generators at both hospitals could be repaired and services returned to normal.
“The electricity supply in the town, already erratic due to failing infrastructure, has been worsened by the latest severe weather, and load shedding will aggravate the situation even further,” she said.
News24 article – Floods wipe out backup generators at two Komani hospitals (Open access)
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