MDANTSANE - Patients at the Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in the Eastern Cape had to be moved to other facilities.
This is after thieves stole cables on Tuesday.
Surgical operations had to be carried out using generators and some patients were moved to nearby hospitals.
Two people have since been arrested.
Provincial Health Department Spokesperson MK Ndamase says the theft is not unique to this hospital.
"Unfortunately, security guards cannot cover each and every inch of the hospital," Ndamase said.
Ndamase says they are beefing up security throughout the province.
"We are installing CCTV cameras and beefing up manpower," he says.