Doctors at KwaZulu-Natal’s Ngwelezane Hospital in Empangeni were forced to operate by torchlight because of insufficient emergency power supply for their theatres, the Mercury newspaper said on Thursday.
The paper reported there was a problem when the uninterrupted power supply (UPS) for the theatre did not kick-start last week.
A doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the power failure lasted longer than 20 minutes.
‘This was while patients were anaesthetised in three theatres. Fortunately the anaesthetic machines and monitors have their own battery back-up, but the theatre lights do not. As a result surgeons have had to use laryngoscopes and torches to operate,†the doctor told the Mercury.
The doctors had asked for the UPS to be upgraded but had not received a response.
On Tuesday, the KwaZulu-Natal department of health said it was putting in place measures to replace the UPS to prevent such problems in the future.
KwaZulu-Natal health minister Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo said he had met the hospital’s CEO who told him there was a back-up generator.
If the generator did not kick-start it could have been a technical fault, the Mercury reported. — Sapa