Power outages in Ethiopian Hospitals

Fitsum Tilahun (MD)

The disaster of power outage in a hospital, especially a tertiary level hospital like Tikur Anbessa (Black Lion) is beyond comprehension and yet that was what happened two days ago: a power cut and a dysfunctional generator that lasted for seven agonizing hours.

You can expect a lot of bad things to happen when you go to any Hospital in Ethiopia. Most of you have been there and you know what I mean. Mistreatment starting from the gate keeper to the attending doctors, long waits for laboratories, appointments, and lack of basic diagnostic facilities, the list is long.