Sharmili Mallick

Nayagarh: A patient battling renal problems allegedly died during dialysis following a power outage in Nayagarh District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) on Saturday. The deceased has been identified as Gangadhar Swain of Mahulia village in Daspalla area.

There was a power cut when Swain was undergoing dialysis at the DHH. As there was no alternative measure for restoring power, it led to his death, alleged family members.

The family members further alleged that, "Though the hospital had a generator, it could not be started for hours as the operator was on leave."

“Ten minutes after the dialysis started, there was a power cut. The other hospital staff could not start the generator and my husband was left in that condition for around four hours which led to his death,” alleged Swain’s wife Pratima.

Pratima said that though her family members informed the matter to Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO), the officer did not pay any attention to their request.

On the other hand, Additional District Medical Officer (ADMO) Batakrushna Mahala refuted the allegations saying that, “The patient's condition was very critical and doctors had referred him to AIIMS Bhubaneswar after necessary check-up. The patient's wife herself took him to the dialysis unit. The staff on duty had not conducted the dialysis, as the patient was critical and returned him to the ward. He died couple of hours after coming to the ward.”

However, the ADMO accepted that there was a power outage yesterday and said generator was later repaired to restore power to the hospital.

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