Short Circuit Led To Fire; Probe Ordered
Lucknow: A five-week old baby suffering with a congenital heart disease and a 26-year-old woman with parathyroid tumors died while two others sustained injuries after a fire broke out in the Operation Theatre of Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) on Monday.
Taking cognizance of the incident, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed senior officers and fire brigade teams to reach the spot and carry out relief work expeditiously. Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak, who also holds the medical education portfolio, ordered a high-level inquiry headed by principal secretary, medical, health and family welfare department, Partha Sarthi Sen Sharma.
The incident was reported at the combined OT Complex (comprising 13 OTs) located on the first floor of the old building causing panic among patients, attendants, and hospital staff on duty.
According to director, SGPGIMS, Prof RK Dhiman: “An OT monitor (that measures a patient’s vital) developed a short circuit and, in a few seconds, the fire spread to the connected anaesthesia workstation, which caused a blast. The staff on duty doused the fire using a hose pipe but the incident caused panic and required rescue work was conducted.”
Insiders revealed that the anaesthesia workstation was being used for the woman who died in the incident. “A detailed probe and postmortem would reveal the actual cause of her death but the machine that developed snag was being used on her when the incident took place,” they confirmed. The family of one of the victims told TOI that after the blast, medical staff ran away, leaving the patient on her own.
At least 25 patients were rescued from the OT and post-operative ward and then shifted to the PMSSY building opposite the old block. All the patient care testing services that were extended in the E-block of the hospital (just below OT complex) were stalled and patients were asked to leave the premises to avert trouble. To note, many of these patients would have got their date after weeks of waiting. Sources also said that services in the radiology department were also stalled.
Deputy Inspector General of Police, Jugal Kishore Tiwari, said that the fire department received an SOS from PGI around 12.58 pm and instantly rushed four fire tenders to the spot. “The fire had spread to the entire first floor which we could control in about half an hour,” said Kishore who also reached the incident site to supervise rescue work. He added that ‘exact cause of the fire was a matter of investigation.’
Sharing further details, Chief Fire Officer, Lucknow, Mangesh Kumar: “When our firemen reached the spot the fire and smoke that had engulfed the entire first floor. First the fire was doused and then the smoke was dealt with. The rescue of the patients inside the OT was conducted simultaneously.”
Adding that it took about two hours to clear the smoke, the CFO said: “Ten persons, including a five-month-old baby, some patients and their attendants were evacuated in the initial phase of rescue. And later, we used smoke exhausters to emit out the plumes of smoke. Thereafter, at least a hundred others in the complex were moved to a safe place. The entire operation lasted for about two hours.”
“The incident is very unfortunate and tragic. The government is with the families of the victims. Instructions have also been issued to conduct safety audits of all government hospitals and operation theatres across the state, including SGPGI,” Pathank said, assuring that proper treatment was extended to the injured. Sharma also reached the spot to oversee the entire situation.
Claiming that patient care services were not affected, Dr Dhiman expressed grief over the loss of life. “The two patients were brought to the nearby nephrology ICU and resuscitated but unfortunately, they did not respond,” he said.
