Health Minister-designate Bernard Okoe-Boye has advised health facilities to utilize alternative power sources, particularly generator sets, in response to the recent erratic power supply.
Speaking at a press briefing during his visit to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Okoe-Boye refuted claims of neglect toward the health sector and urged the public to discuss these issues objectively.
He emphasized that hospitals are integral parts of the country and are thus affected by any challenges the nation faces.
Dr. Okoe-Boye underscored the importance of hospitals being adequately prepared to manage power outages, especially during critical times when an uninterrupted power supply is vital for patient care.
He also highlighted the necessity for health facilities to have reliable backup power sources, such as generator sets, to ensure continuous operations during periods of power cuts.
“Because someone did a video of one minute, and 40 seconds and said lights have gone out, everybody goes emotional. The truth is that, if the country experiences some issues with power availability, hospitals are not outside the country, they will also experience some.”
“Another truth is that most of our hospitals have standby power plants, but just like management of a house, you can go to a house, they have a generator but maybe the generator has an issue.
“The one to put in petrol has an issue. Let’s stick to the essentials. Let’s ask a hospital, how is your generator? Is it working? If it’s not working, have you approached the ministry? If it’s working, who was in charge? Why didn’t you make it work? I don’t want to go into the details. We should not get sensational. Let’s stick to the essentials.
“If we want to discuss power supply in hospitals and standby generators, let’s discuss it. That is the way to make progress. You can do an audit, in Accra, there are 40 government hospitals, out of the 40, about thirty have power plants. Ten don’t have. Doctor, what are you doing about it? That is the way to make progress,” the minister-designate said.
This advice follows calls for health facilities to be exempted from ongoing intermittent power cuts due to their adverse impact on healthcare delivery.