HEALTH Minister Dr Joe Phaahla said his department needs funding for fuel to run generators.
This is because power outages continue to affect several hospitals which have not been exempt from load shedding.
On Wednesday, 12 April, Eskom announced that stage 6 load shedding would be implemented until further notice as a result of a shortage of generation capacity.
To date, at least 76 of about 213 hospitals in the country have been exempt from rolling power cuts, while many have not been spared.
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About 26 of these exempt hospitals are supplied by Eskom, while 50 are supplied by municipalities.
Phaahla said this in his response to a written Parliamentary question from DA MP, Lindy Wilson.
According to Phaahla, load shedding has had a negative impact on health services in primary health facilities, hospitals, community health centres, clinics, EMS centres and forensic laboratories.
As a result, the department is now looking for funding for fuel, oil and to service generators.
Phaahla said:
Phaahla said that the department also needs funding for the installation of dedicated lines for certain key hospitals and for the roll-out of solar energy and battery storage as back-up supply in all health facilities.
Speaking to Daily Sun on Thursday, 13 April, Wilson said the country's health sector is in its "worst crisis" than ever before.
She argued that generators are not a sustainable solution as they are not strong or fast enough to keep theatres, emergency rooms or oxygen going.
Wilson said there should be some kind of negotiation between Eskom and municipalities on a way forward.
