This morning at approximately 05:20 a patient presenting with acute chest pain was brought to Netcare Olivedale Hospital’s Accident and Emergency Unit.

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Due to the severity of his condition he was immediately admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit at the hospital. An examination by cardiologist, Dr Hermann Wittmer, found that the patient was in need of an emergency angiogram. However, scheduled load shedding had occurred at the hospital at 06:00. While the back-up generators of the hospital kicked in immediately it was not possible to continue with the procedure as it is considered extremely risky to undertake a complicated procedure of this nature with the aid of back-up generator power only.

The prognosis for the patient was extremely poor. Desperate calls made to both City Power and Eskom all went unanswered. Left with little choice the management of the hospital immediately arranged to transfer the patient by helicopter to Netcare Sunninghill Hospital where a team was waiting to perform the life-saving procedure.

“Dr Wittmer, who was working under considerable time pressure, was extremely concerned about the condition of the patient and the impact that even the smallest delay could have on his life. In a bid to save his patient he made a call to Radio 702. Talk show host John Robbie and his team immediately set the wheels in motion to ‘get the power switched back on’ in order to save the life of the patient,” says hospital general manager, Robert Jordaan.

“The helicopter was en route when I received a call from City Power to inform me that the power was about to come back on. The cardiac team was ready and waiting to undertake the procedure as the power went back up at 08:00, and the helicopter was able to return to its base.

We are happy to report that Dr Wittmer and his team has inserted the much-needed stent and that the patient is resting in a stable condition in the cardiac intensive care unit. The family of the patient is extremely relieved and thankful that the operation could continue at Netcare Olivedale Hospital and that their father and husband is now doing well.

“While this is a difficult situation it shows just how much doctors really care for their patients,” says Jordaan. “We are proud to be part of this caring team of healthcare professionals and are extremely thankful to our colleagues at Netcare Sunninghill Hospital and the Netcare 911 flight desk who did not hesitate to come to our rescue at this difficult time. The heroes of the day are John Robbie and his team who pulled out all the stops to help us save the life of a patient. It just goes to show that the power of radio is alive and well in our city,” says Jordaan.

"Netcare Olivedale Hospital currently has a 380 KVA generator that is fully functional and is in excellent condition. This generator covers all of the most crucial areas of the hospital, such as the theatres and intensive care units. As a backup we have installed an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS), into all our theatres."

"In September 2007 we opted to invest in an additional R3 million, 1.2 Mega KVA generator. This generator has the capability of supplying power to the entire hospital. It will be fully installed in approximately three to four weeks from now, thereby ensuring that the hospital will no longer be constantly reliant on City Power for our electricity supply," says Jordaan.
 

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