Odisha government's tall claims of offering healthcare services seem to have received a jolt after an accident victim underwent treatment under mobile torchlight at Patnagarh hospital on Thursday night.
The incident came to the fore after videos of the doctors stitching the wounds of the patient under mobile torchlight surfaced on media platforms.
As per reports, some locals rescued the accident victim late on Thursday night following a head-on collision between two four-wheelers near Balipata Padiazor in Patnagarh. The locals rushed the victim to Patnagarh government hospital to offer immediate medical attention.
As there was no electricity in the hospital and the electricity backup generator at the hospital was lying defunct, the team of doctors carried out the operation on the patient under mobile torchlight.
Meanwhile, the Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) of Patnagarh, Pitabasa Sa said that the wire of the generator was damaged for which there was a disruption in the backup power supply at the hospital.
"I had received a call from the manager about generator's wire damages. He also informed me that he will do the needful immediately to restore the power supply. Following that, the manager went to bring an electrician to repair the wires as he didn't answer the phone calls," said Sa.
Sa added, "As reported by the manager, the power disruption was only for 5-10 minutes."
However, the incident led to public outrage with people criticising the ‘callousness’ of the authorities concerned. The locals expressed discontentment as such incidents have come to the fore several times in which patients don't receive quality treatment at the government hospital.
This is not the first incident that sheds light on such callousness of the hospital authorities at different places of the State.
In a similar incident, a baby was delivered at Polsara Community Health Center Ganjam District under cellphone light and candles due to an abrupt power cut on Monday night following which tension ran high at the hospital.
While the Odisha government claims of generating a high amount of electricity, the unannounced power disruption in this scorching summer in government hospitals says it all. Even a healthcare centre in Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's constituency is not spared from the list. Though patients continue to reel under scorching heat and power disruption adds to their woes, no steps have been taken yet to address the issues.