Power shortage hits South Sudan’s main referral hospital

May 23, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s main referral hospital, has been without power for seven consecutive days, as medical practitioners used candles and torches to aid work.

Workers at Juba Teaching hospital confirmed said the power problem at the facility has persisted for about a week.

Unconfirmed reports say for doctors to carry out an emergency operation on patient in a critical condition, relatives would be asked to provide fuel to run the hospital generator during an operation.

This situation, officials said, had never ever occurred in the institution’s history.

A medical source told Sudan Tribune on anonymity that medical personnel had to use oxygen cylinders for patients who needed oxygen and candles to light some general wards as they do not have fuel to run the generators.

The hospital’s sensitive areas such as the Neonatal intensive care unit that utilizes incubators for the premature babies and the operating theatres have been affected by the power failure because the hospital lacks backup generators.

The main referral institution has since failed to secure fuel to run its standby generators.

Meanwhile, health ministry officials say their counterparts at the finance, petroleum, and the electricity and dams ministries were notified about the problem, but no action has been taken.

(ST)