Jamui: A prolonged power cut at Jamui Sadar Hospital on Friday forced doctors to carry on with operations on two pregnant women using torches and mobile phone flashlights, hospital sources said.
The electricity supply to the operation theatre reportedly failed while the procedures were already in progress. The disruption continued for nearly 45 minutes, while the generator failed to provide immediate power backup.
The two patients, identified as Pooja Kumari and Anjani Kumari, had been brought to the operation theatre from the maternity ward. With the surgical team unable to restore the regular power supply, doctors and hospital staff used handheld torches and mobile phone lights to illuminate the operating area.
The medical team included Dr Shalini Kumari, Dr Raghunandan and operation-theatre assistant Amit Kumar, as reported by NDTV. The doctors reportedly informed the civil surgeon and hospital superintendent about the power failure.
Video Brings Incident To Light
A video purportedly recorded inside the operation theatre shows one of the procedures being conducted with the help of a mobile phone flashlight. A nurse can be seen holding the phone and directing its light towards the surgical site as the doctors continued their work.
The person recording the footage can reportedly be heard saying that the operation theatre had remained without electricity for a considerable period and that senior officials had been informed about the problem. The video has since raised questions about the hospital’s emergency power arrangements.
Doctors also discussed the incident in an internal hospital group. They alleged that the facility had experienced similar power failures earlier and claimed that surgeries had previously been conducted with the help of mobile phone lights during such disruptions.
Hospital manager Ramesh Pandey denied the allegations, saying that no surgery had previously been conducted at the hospital under the light of mobile phone flashlights.
Inquiry Ordered Into Power Failure
Jamui Sadar Hospital deputy superintendent Dr Thanesh Kumar said the administration had been informed about the episode. He added that a high-level inquiry had been initiated to examine what caused the power failure and why the backup system did not function promptly.
The incident has raised fresh questions about the hospital’s administration and infrastructure. Sources alleged that recurring power cuts and generator failures had become a persistent problem at the facility, posing a serious risk to patients undergoing emergency surgeries.