It has been announced that another five hospitals in the Western Cape has been exempt from load shedding, bringing the total number of hospitals to eight.
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On Thursday, 7 October 2022, this news was welcomed by the Western Cape MEC for Health and Wellness, Dr Nomafrench Mbombo.
According to News24, the news follows an urgent media briefing last Friday by Mbombo after the non-exemption of hospitals in the Western Cape by National Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla.
During the briefing, Mbombo stated national government had “left the Western Cape behind” and called on lawmakers and other stakeholders to exempt more hospitals in the province.
To date, the City of Cape Town and power utility Eskom have made progress in exempting more hospitals.
Initially, the exempted hospitals were Tygerberg, Groote Schuur and the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. This was prior to the request for additional 19 hospitals in the province to be exempted.
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The following hospitals were initially exempted from load shedding in the Western Cape:
- Tygerberg Hospital
- Groote Schuur Hospital
- Red Cross Hospital
The additional hospitals now exempted which are on the City of Cape Town grid are:
- New Somerset Hospital
- Mitchells Plain Hospital
- Karl Bremer Hospital
- Victoria Hospital
Furthermore, the fifth hospital is on the Eskom Grid and will also be exempted is George Hospital.
“I am happy that the voice of the Western Cape was heard, and I thank all stakeholders, especially the City of Cape Town and Eskom, for their support in getting five additional hospitals exempted within the Western Cape. We are looking forward to their support in realising the exemption of the remaining 14 hospitals in the order of priority,” Mbombo said.
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The other hospitals awaiting exemption on the list given by the Western Cape Health Department, in order of priority, are:
- Mowbray
- Wesfleur
- Helderberg
- False Bay
- Oral Health Centre
These hospitals are all on the City of Cape Town grid.
Hospitals on the Eskom grid, still requiring exemption, in order of priority, are:
- Khayelitsha
- Worcester
- Paarl
- Caledon
- Vredendal
- Eerste River
- Oudtshoorn
- Ceres
- Beaufort West
“We welcome the support shown by our electricity providers in exempting some additional hospitals from load shedding. Our staff at these hospitals can now continue providing quality health care without the worry of load shedding, especially in theatres and emergency centres,” said Mbombo.
“We continue to work collaboratively with the City of Cape Town and Eskom towards a safer, uninterrupted power-supplied clinical setting in all our hospitals where our staff are required to save lives and provide the best possible to the residents of the Western Cape,” Mbombo concluded.
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