Kerela: Kerala Health Minister Veena George has ordered a probe following complaints about a nearly three-hour power outage at the state-run Sree Avittam Thirunal (SAT) Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday night. The incident led to heated exchanges between the families of patients and hospital authorities.
Family members of patients admitted to the state-run Sree Avittam Thirunal Hospital (SAT) Hospital here protested outside the gate as some blocks in the facility faced a power outage for nearly three hours on Sunday night. The hospital, located on the Government Medical College campus, witnessed heated arguments between the family members of the patients and hospital authorities.
According to the PTI report, taking cognizance of the matter, Health Minister Veena George said a comprehensive technical committee will carry out a probe into the power outage reported in one of the blocks in the hospital.
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When the incident was brought to her notice, George also sought the emergency support of the power minister and the electrical wing of the Public Works Department (PWD) to restore the power supply.
As the tension escalated, more police personnel were deployed on the hospital campus. The power supply was restored after nearly three hours.
SAT Hospital is a tertiary care institute, the maternal and child health wing of Government Medical College here.
As the protest mounted, the Kerala Electricity Board Limited (KSEB) claimed that the power outage was not because of any fault from their side.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan criticised the government over the issue and accused the Health Department of not paying heed to the matter, news agency PTI reported.
The power supply was interrupted for over three hours and it was restored temporarily after intense protests staged by patients and their family members, he said.
He also criticised the authorities for not shifting pregnant women and newborn babies, admitted there in critical condition, to other hospitals.
In a statement, the LoP also demanded a comprehensive probe into the incident, adds PTI.
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