Power and water cuts in Johannesburg are putting residents who rely on medical equipment at serious risk, Daily Maverick reports.
One man who depends on an electric oxygen concentrator said he had spent more than R20,000 on backup supplies, and that a 10-litre cylinder lasts only about four hours. He wants councils to offer backup support.
A disability charity's social work manager said water cuts made washing and continence care much harder, shifting burdens to families. A registered nurse said long outages could affect people using home ventilation, suction or nebulisers, and that wound care depended on clean water. She suggested councils keep a register of medically vulnerable households and restore their services first.
The head of the South African Association of Homes for the Aged said frail-care residents on oxygen might need bottled supplies or hospital transfer during long cuts.
Source: Daily Maverick
