Is the health system prepared for a widespread power blackout?
29/04/2025
Ángela Domínguez García et. al.
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Profesor at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences.
Ángela Domínguez García et. al.
Profesor at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences.
When the blackout began, some of us had the image of a surgeon operating in an unlit operating room. All healthcare is highly dependent on electricity: for appointments, the management of electronic medical records, and the operation of equipment for both hospital and home use, among others.
If there is fuel, hospitals work
Luckily, hospitals have systems of electrical generators or generator sets that start up when there are power outages. These systems are dependent on other fuel sources, such as diesel, which will have to be replenished. As long as the replenishment of these fuels is guaranteed, hospitals can operate independently of the grid.
During the blackout, non-urgent hospital activity was postponed, with priority given to other cases. It is important to assess the response of the most sensitive parts of the health system (operating rooms, vaccinations, prescribing and dispensing of drugs, scheduling of medical visits and their subsequent recovery) and to check whether the security systems to maintain services functioned adequately.
This article was originally published on The Conversation.
Luckily, hospitals have systems of electrical generators or generator sets that start up when there are power outages. These systems are dependent on other fuel sources, such as diesel, which will have to be replenished. As long as the replenishment of these fuels is guaranteed, hospitals can operate independently of the grid.
During the blackout, non-urgent hospital activity was postponed, with priority given to other cases. It is important to assess the response of the most sensitive parts of the health system (operating rooms, vaccinations, prescribing and dispensing of drugs, scheduling of medical visits and their subsequent recovery) and to check whether the security systems to maintain services functioned adequately.
This article was originally published on The Conversation.