Power outage in Telangana hospitals forces doctors to use flashlights; Government seeks report

A woman undergoing treatment said the hospital was without power for over an hour.

On Tuesday night, MGM super-specialty hospital in Warangal experienced a similar situation.

Patients, who were to be put on IV fluids, too, were affected. Since the beds were not prepared due to the outage that reportedly lasted five hours from 4.30 pm, they were seen outside wards holding the IV fluid bottles.

Many patients left the wards unable to bear the summer heat. The power supply was restored by 9.30 pm.

The power outage in #Telangana is now affecting hospitals as well. On Wednesday night, doctors were seen treating patients at Bhuvanagiri Government Hospital without electricity.

On Tuesday night, a similar situation occurred at MGM Hospital in Warangal. Patients were holding… pic.twitter.com/Z3Evfhmdfd

— South First (@TheSouthfirst) May 23, 2024

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BRS fires at government

Former health minister and BRS MLA T Harish Rao criticised the government for the widespread power outage.

“What more proof do we need of the power cuts in the state? Yesterday, the emergency department of MGM Hospital was without electricity or treatment for five hours. Today’s power cuts at Bhuvanagiri Government Hospital have made life hell for the patients,” he said on X.

“People from all sections, including farmers, are facing many difficulties due to these power cuts under Congress rule. Even critically-ill patients in emergency departments are suffering. Is this the change we were promised? Is this the so-called ‘kingdom of Indiramma’,” he asked.

“Leaders who claim there are no power cuts in the state, open your eyes. Leave politics aside and focus on administration,” Rao said.

రాష్ట్రంలో కరెంట్ కోతలకు ఇంతకంటే నిదర్శనం ఇంకేం ఉంటుంది.

నిన్న ఎంజిఎం ఆసుపత్రిలో అత్యవసర విభాగంలో 5 గంటల పాటు కరెంట్ లేక వైద్యం అందకుండా పోయింది.

నేడు భువనగిరి ప్రభుత్వ ఆసుపత్రిలో కరెంట్ కోతలు పేషంట్లకు నరకంగా మారింది.

కాంగ్రెస్ పాలనలో కరెంట్ కోతలతో రైతులు సహా అన్ని వర్గాల… pic.twitter.com/a1Tifl7tsx

— Harish Rao Thanneeru (@BRSHarish) May 22, 2024

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Health department clarifies

The health department reported an interruption in the power supply to MGM Hospital from 6.15 pm on 21 May due to VCB (vacuum circuit breaker) issues between the main HT lines and MGM power lines.

However, the back-up generators at the Hospital ensured uninterrupted power supply to critical patient care areas, including the emergency, ICU, operation theatres, specialty and super specialty blocks, and wards.

“The patients in the dialysis wing continued their treatment through battery backup. By 9 pm, full power supply to MGM Hospital was restored through the repair of HT lines and defective breakers by the NPDCL engineering wing,” the department said.

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Minister seeks report

Minister for Health, Medical, and Family Welfare C Damodar Rajanarsimha reviewed the situation at 11 am on 22 May.

The minister instructed the Managing Director of the Telangana Medical Services & Infrastructure Development Corporation to submit an inquiry report within 24 hours, identifying any lapses.

Additionally, the managing director has been directed to deploy engineers to inspect all government hospitals on a war footing and to submit a report within a week.

“They shall assess the functionality of backup power systems and repair or replace non-functioning generator systems, especially in view of the upcoming monsoon season, to avoid such incidents in the future,” the health department said in a statement.

(Edited by Majnu Babu)