Bernard Okoe Boye, the Health Minister-designate, has recommended that hospitals equip themselves with alternative power sources such as generators to counteract recent inconsistent power supply popularly termed as Dumsor.
Many have called for health facilities to be exempt from the ongoing power cuts due to their potential to disrupt medical operations. Okoe-Boye acknowledged these concerns during a press briefing at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, stating the need for hospitals to have backup plans.
Okoe-Boye refuted claims of neglect towards the health sector and encouraged open, fair discussions on the subject. He stressed that hospitals are an integral part of the nation and face the same challenges as the rest of the country.
The minister-designate’s comments aim to ensure hospitals remain functional and safe for patients despite power interruptions. His focus on practical solutions demonstrates his commitment to maintaining healthcare standards during times of instability.
Dumsor: Bernard Okoe Boye ‘s Remarks Urging Hospitals to Prepare
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, Mr. Okoe-Boye remarked.
