Darkness in the hospital rooms as guidance resort to using telephones to light up the dark rooms/Luak Nelson.

Doctors at Juba Teaching Hospital were forced to use phone lights and torches to conduct life-saving surgeries following an unexpected power blackout last night.

The country’s main referral hospital did not have electricity in theatre rooms, baby incubation area and areas for monitoring oxygen.

It also affected the Out-Patient Department, labor unit, ophthalmology, mortuary, blood bank, water supply, incubation nursery, and the Integrated Disease Unit.

Two doctors—Juma Egidio Kasmiro and Dr. Bakhita Jol Madol were busy helping a mother deliver through a cesarian section when the power went off in the middle of their operation.

To ensure the life-saving procedure continued, one doctor held up his phone light, while the other helped pull the baby out of the mother’s belly.

“I was operating on a patient, and after the operation was over, I was stitching the wound. Suddenly the power was cut off and that caused all devices to stop,” Dr. Bakhita Jol Madol narrated.

“It is not supposed to be cut off that moment, but we had to continue so we resorted to using the lights of the telephone.”

Residents of Juba city yesterday reported a total power blackout by Juba Electricity Distribution Company.

The sudden move to cut electricity supply comes less than 72 hours after JEDCO announced load-shedding in Juba. It was supposed to be a gradual shutdown.

The two doctors who conducted the surgical procedure said the power cut put the lives of mothers and newborns at risk

“This is a very dangerous thing because we require oxygen for the mother and the newborn,” Dr. Bakhita added.

“So please put this into your consideration, we need help because Juba Teaching Hospital is a referral hospital. So Electricity fluctuation is not in the patients’ favor.”

Dr. Bakhita and her colleague completed the surgery successfully.

But they are unsure about the extent of the damage the power cut may have caused in the entire hospital.

The Medical Director at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department said they had to adapt to continue their work when the electricity went off.

“Most of these deliveries take place at night, through cesarean section. It is very difficult to operate without electricity,” Juma Egidio Kasmiro said.

He explains that during the operation, with a lot of bleeding, “we are forced to perform it with lamps because it is a human life.”

The power cut also affected newborns in the intensive care room in need of oxygen.

“The absence of electricity means no oxygen, and this causes breathing problems,” Dr. Egidio stated.

Before the Juba Power Distribution system, Juba Teaching Hospital ran on fueled generators which used to lead to forced blackouts and load-shedding.

The current power plant was supposed to bring about improved delivery of health services and general better operations of Juba Teaching Hospital.