Power cut: Doctors treat patients by cell phone torchlight

Haveri: Patients at the taluk hospital in the town were treated under mobile phone torchlight after a sudden power outage on Wednesday night.The hospital has no UPS facility and depends entirely on regular power supply. Residents alleged that repeated outages have caused problems, but hospital authorities have failed to find a permanent solution.On Wednesday night, a fault in wiring at the hospital building disrupted the power supply. Electricity did not return for nearly an hour, while some patients required injections and other procedures. Staff used mobile phone torches to administer injections, while some patients had wounds stitched under the light.12 tourists from Karnataka’s Haveri safe in NepalThe hospital remained dark, forcing patients and staff to move around with mobile torches. Power was restored only after several hours, bringing relief to everyone.A patient’s relative said the hospital had no system to handle sudden power failures and lacked UPS backup, leaving patients distressed.Expressing concern about the intensive care unit and patients requiring oxygen, they said uninterrupted electricity is essential for their treatment and such outages could endanger lives.They warned that vaccines and essential medicines stored in refrigerators could spoil during prolonged power cuts.The hospital medical officer was unavailable for comment on the outage.

Source: Deccan Herald