Provincial health department spokesperson, Mondli Mvambi, says the power outages are due to the installation of generators at the Cosmos block. 

He says the “process interferes with electrical connections” at the facility. 

This as OFM News received reports that the complex was without electricity over the course of Thursday and Friday. 

The health department spokesperson assures residents in the province that contingency measures are in place. Lanterns were used to provide lighting when it was needed and no other services were interrupted.  

Mvambi explains the installation of generators is necessary at the facility, especially for instances when there are general power outages at the hands of Centlec. 

It was revealed during an oversight visit by delegates from the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) in August 2018 that the psychiatric hospital is non-compliant in a number of areas including the supply of uninterrupted power. This concerned delegates greatly.  

CEO of the 150 bed Bloemfontein hospital, Jacoline Seboko, told OFM News previously they have been busy with the installation of Distribution Boards (DB) to improve the supply of electricity at the aging facility. 

Seboko says the contractor has done work on about 10 wards and the facility reaped rewards of the upgrades during the 2018 winter period. 

The facility has in the past been prone to fires due to the old installations. Some of these fires have claimed the lives of patients.

OFM News