VISAKHAPATNAM: A major power outage at King George Hospital (KGH) in Vizag on Thursday left patients in several key wards suffering without electricity, ventilation, and medical equipment.
The outage, caused by damage to a critical power cable during ongoing work on the hospital premises, began at 1:45 pm, and disrupted services in all orthopaedic, paediatrics, women’s, Rajendra and Bhavanagar wards, leading to discomfort and anxiety among patients and their families.
Patients and their families reported significant inconvenience as they were left waiting in dark and humid conditions. While emergency units such as the ICU, NICU, and CSR blocks continued functioning with the help of generators, other wards experienced prolonged power failure. Hospital staff and authorities were engaged in efforts to restore power throughout the evening.
“A major power cable was disconnected near the critical care unit, leading to the outage. Our technical team is addressing the issue, and we expect the power to be restored by around 2 am,” said Deputy Superintendent Dr M Chandra Sekhar Naidu.
“We were told repeatedly that power would return in 30 minutes, but by 10:30 pm also nothing had changed. The environm e n t i s e x t r e m e l y uncomfortable, and even basic amenities like water in the washrooms are affected,” family members told TNIE.
“The power supply at King George Hospital was disrupted after electric cables were damaged during ongoing construction work. Efforts are being made to restore regular power, and the hospital is currently running essential services through generators. As soon as the issue came to my notice, I spoke to the concerned officials to ensure immediate action,” said Health Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav.
KGH serves not only Vizag but also surrounding districts and neighbouring States, making the disruption particularly challenging for many dependent on uninterrupted medical services.
This is not the first time that power outages have been reported at KGH.
On several occasions, general ward patients have been forced to rely on hand fans and other makeshift methods due to the lack of electricity. These issues have persisted for a long time, highlighting ongoing infrastructure challenges at the hospital.
As of 10.30 pm on Thursday, power hasn’t been restored.