BARGARH : Equipment failure during a mass sterilisation camp at Bargarh district headquarters hospital (DHH) reportedly left at least 20 women unconscious on their beds after being administered anaesthesia on Thursday.
The shocking incident took place at Maternal and Child Care wing of the hospital, leading to chaos in the ward.
Sources said around 25 women from different blocks of Bargarh were brought to the DHH by ASHA workers for family planning surgeries. The patients arrived on time and all preliminary preparations were reportedly in place. Doctors also reached the operation theatre (OT) and began the procedures. After successfully carrying out the surgery on five patients, doctors were conducting the procedure on the sixth woman when the equipment suddenly stopped working.
As panic spread inside the OT, doctors hurriedly came out and informed the anxious attendants that the machine had failed and no further surgeries could be conducted. Attendants alleged that doctors advised them to take their patients home and return on another day.
In the meantime, the scene inside the ward turned chaotic as two to three women were seen lying unconscious on a single bed. A total of 20 women were reportedly found unconscious under the effect of anaesthesia, triggering fear and anxiety among attendants.
Rasmita Kuar, an attendant from Kainsir village in Barpali, said, “The doctor told us he was leaving and asked us to take back the patients. But how could we move the unconscious patients? The hospital authorities should have arranged backup equipment as they had planned a surgery camp. The doctors are responsible for creating such a situation.”
Another attendant Banita Bhoi said, “I had come for my sister-in-law’s surgery. After being administered anaesthesia, she has been lying unconscious on the bed since 2 pm. I have been waiting in the hospital with her eight-month-old child. I also need to return home as my children are alone, but we are stuck here in uncertainty.”
On being informed, chief district medical officer (CDMO) Dr Kuber Mohanta reached the ward to take stock of the situation. He said, “Alternative arrangements were made and the surgeries resumed late in the afternoon. All the patients were sent back home around 8 pm after their surgeries were performed. All the patients were in stable condition.”