Children and adults in palliative care are struggling to stay alive amid the ongoing load shedding and experts warn that the country’s “diabolical” energy crisis could send more people to an early grave.
For those who need power-driven medical devices, especially oxygen, it’s become a desperate fight for survival and they are fast running out of hope.
Warren Oxford-Huggett, the chief executive officer of Msunduzi Hospice in Pietermaritzburg, said about 80% of their patients did not have access to inverters, batteries and generators, making load shedding an emotional and physical challenge.
“It complicates having a life threatening illness; you’ve got your illness, you’ve got your treatment regimen, there’s all