The Minority in Parliament is urging health facilities to be exempted from the current unannounced and unscheduled electricity load shedding by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
They are also advocating for an audit to determine the capacity and reliability of alternate power supply systems in hospitals.
“The Ministry of Energy, in collaboration with relevant agencies, must, without delay, exempt all health facilities nationwide from the current unannounced and unscheduled electricity load shedding and power outages.”
“The Ministry of Health working in tandem with the Ghana Health Service should audit all alternate power supply systems within health facilities to determine their capacity and reliability in handling electricity disruptions and procurement of emergency power supply systems should be done if current systems are inadequate,” the caucus stated in a release issued by Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Ranking Member on the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health and MP for Juaboso on Thursday.
The Minority expressed concern over reports that the power outages have led to increased morbidity and mortality among patients, particularly those relying on public health facilities.
“Amid these happenings, the government has refused to heed wise counsel from suffering Ghanaians and businesses to publish a load shedding timetable to enable them to plan their lives. This situation has obviously begun to take a toll on critical healthcare facilities across the country,” it added.
The caucus emphasised that in a time of so-called excess capacity, the government’s implementation of a load-shedding exercise is highly unjustifiable, and there can be no excuse for interrupting power supply, especially to health facilities.
“We therefore demand swift action from relevant authorities to address these critical issues and safeguard the delivery of vital health services to Ghanaians,” it added.
