Andhra Pradesh Healthcare facilities are reeling under massive power cuts ever since the Central Power Distribution Company Limited (CPDCL) started shedding load in the twin cities last week to save energy.
Services were nearly paralysed in several government hospitals and small private facilities on Monday due to erratic power supply throughout the day with many surgeries being postponed and patients suffering in the extreme heat. AP Chest and General Hospital at Erragadda had no power supply for a good five hours at a stretch between 9 am and 1 pm leaving authorities severely handicapped.
The situation was equally bad at MNJ Cancer Hospital and Niloufer Hospital with power cuts reported every half an hour to 45 minutes, leaving the ailing patients feeling helpless. The area and district hospitals located in various corners of the city too, bore the brunt on Monday. “The situation is very difficult. There were power cuts three to four times and we are treating more than 500 patients daily. During surgeries and radiation, we require uninterrupted power supply,” said Dr Nindra Armugam, resident medical officer (in charge), MNJ Cancer Hospital. “We could not give radiation to a lot of patients due to power cuts,” he added.
“The impact was tremendous. Around 200-300 out patients come to our hospital and this is the only major hospital in this area. X-ray and lab facilities were not available. Frequent power disturbance caused a havoc to patients in the intensive care unit,” said Dr P N S Reddy, superintendent, Chest Hospital. He added that doctors could not even tell the patients when to come back for treatment due to the uncertainty.
Doctors at hospitals across the city maintained that patients were the worst sufferers due to prolonged load shedding. “We have a generator, but we often run out of diesel as there are budget constraints. In these circumstances, we are forced to postpone elective surgeries. Only emergency cases are taken up,” said a senior doctor at district hospital, King Koti.
“People come from far-off places and other districts. If surgeries are postponed to next week, living in the city for a week becomes difficult for them. Furthermore, the power cuts are erratic. Officials are saying two hours a day, but we have had threehour power cuts in the first half of the day on Monday,” the doctor added.
While Osmania and Gandhi were not affected much, hospital administrators fear the situation might deteriorate in the coming days.
In the private sector, smaller hospitals have started postponing the elective surgeries during non-load shedding hours to cut down their expenditure on generators and diesel.
An official from the CPDCL told INN that government hospitals were given an exemption but this year, no such directions were issued from the corporate office. “We are awaiting directions,” the official added.
POWERLESS!
- AP Chest and General Hospital at Erragadda did not have power supply for five hours at a stretch
- MNJ Cancer Hospital could not give radiation to several patients due to power cuts
- Government hospitals do not have sufficient budget for back-up
- Some private hospitals are postponing elective surgeries during non-load shedding hours to cut down their expenditure
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