Authorities at Bongani Regional Hospital in Welkom have been forced to seek assistance for critical patients from other health facilities after an Eskom cable that supplies it with electricity was stolen on Monday night.
The Free State Department of Health said in a statement the hospital has been running on generators and that patients who needed to be operated on were being sent to nearby hospitals.
“The hospital has been operating with generators from Monday evening . . . up to now,” said provincial health department spokesperson Mondli Mvambi in the statement.
“The theatre team from Bongani Regional Hospital has been designated to evaluate available theatres in the district and around the province as a backup to be used during dire emergency cases whilst the cable is restored for electricity supply,” he added.
Mvambi said the department’s infrastructure services unit is attending to this urgent matter with the hope of restoring the cable and bringing services back to normality in the shortest possible time.
The statement says Health MEC Montseng Tsiu has expressed disappointment at this act of vandalism as it threatens the lives of people who are in need of life support and emergency health services.
Free State police have reported several cases of copper cable theft in the Welkom area in recent weeks.
Other cases have also been reported in different parts of the province and, according to the police, most of them involve foreign nationals believed to be targeting the copper wire for resell at scrap-metal dealerships. – Staff Reporter