NATIONAL NEWS - The Gauteng Department of Health has dismissed claims that patient safety was compromised during a planned power shutdown at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria.
A media report stated that the maintenance work led to service disruptions and possibly contributed to patient deaths.
Steve Biko Hospital services disrupted during maintenance
The report said that the hospital underwent an electricity maintenance shutdown that impacted critical areas. Emergency, intensive care and high-care units were taken out of service.
The National Health Laboratory Service laboratory was also affected by the work.
It was further stated that the disruption resulted in 135 beds being unavailable over the weekend. The casualty department had to be moved to a temporary unit in another ward.
Emergency services allegedly rushed to transfer critically ill patients to Tshwane and Mamelodi hospitals.
Staff cite lack of communication
According to Daily Maverick, the shutdown created significant challenges for hospital operations. The publication detailed the service disruptions and staff concerns about inadequate preparation and communication.
“You cannot shut down an entire emergency unit, have no proper communication and contingencies and call that a maintenance plan.
“For this kind of thing to go on day after day in some form or another is disheartening. And the administrators and middle management simply won’t acknowledge that this is not normal. They don’t care about patients — it’s depressing. It’s not why I became a doctor, and not why I stay in the public health sector,” one of the doctors who spoke to the publication stated.
The doctor said three patients who passed away during the weekend of the outage died due to insufficient care.
They expressed frustration with hospital management, describing a toxic environment characterised by bullying and poor cooperation between facilities.
Department denies patients were compromised
On Thursday, the Gauteng health department denied that the hospital was compromised during the power outage.
“We wish to clarify that this was a planned maintenance and the assertions made in the article are untrue,” it stated.
The department said preparations included extensive staff communication.
“Prior to the shutdown, there were multiple meetings held with the staff physically and virtually. Information about planned maintenance was also shared in various internal platforms,” the statement read.
Department officials not only denied the reports of compromised patient health and safety, but they also described the maintenance as successful.
“The power supply changeover conducted over the past weekend has been successfully completed to upgrade an outdated electrical system and maintain service continuity during power supply interruptions,” they said.
Emergency services relocated temporarily
During the work, the hospital maintained operations with limited disruptions.
“Emergency units temporarily relocated to Level 3 to accommodate walk-in patients who could not be diverted elsewhere,” according to the department.
It claimed laboratory services also adapted to the changes.
“The National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) utilised their satellite facilities within the hospital next to the interim emergency department, serving as a temporary blood request receiving site. Furthermore, NHLS stationed within the facility continued to receive and process requests with their facilities support,” the statement explained.
Article: Caxton publication, The Citizen
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