Power outage at Jaipur's Janana Hospital disrupts surgeries, blood bank services
Jaipur, July 17
A power outage at Jaipur's Janana Hospital in Chandpole Bazar on Thursday disrupted surgeries, blood bank operations, and other essential services for nearly three hours, with hospital authorities saying backup power was prioritised for critical units while efforts were made to restore electricity.
The outage, reportedly caused by a short circuit, affected routine operations at the 550-bed hospital. A scheduled Caesarean section was postponed, while critical patients were shifted to another operation theatre. Blood bank operations, including blood sample processing and test reports, were also disrupted, causing inconvenience to patients.
The prolonged outage also impacted laboratory services, the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and ventilator rooms. The hospital administration, however, made alternative arrangements to ensure emergency services continued.
Hospital Superintendent Dr Nupur Loria said the hospital had one fully functional operation theatre with a dedicated power line and backup system for emergencies.
"We have one fully functional OT with a dedicated power line and backup system; it was set up this way from the start, so it remains operational during such issues... Power went out between 10:30 am and 10:45 am. It had come back briefly but cut out again due to fluctuations that sometimes happen while switching to the generator," she said.
Dr Loria said the administration immediately prioritised critical units after it became clear that restoration would take time.
"The generator cannot handle the load of the entire 550-bed hospital; therefore, we prioritised the most critical areas for backup power -- the nursery, labour room, OT, NICU and blood bank. These are the vital points secured with backup support... As soon as the power went out and it became clear that the repair would take a long time, action was taken," she said.
On the cause of the outage, she said Public Works Department (PWD) officials would be able to provide the exact details.
She added that steps had been taken to prevent such incidents in the future.
"For the new building currently under construction, backup arrangements have been secured from three different sources. We have also laid a new power line here. Previously, our load capacity was 650 kVA, and while paperwork to increase it to 900 kVA was already underway, we have now directly raised the capacity to 1,500 kVA to ensure this issue does not happen again," Loria said.
Patients and their attendants said surgeries were delayed because of the outage.
Meenu Sain, whose Caesarean section was scheduled, said, "It hasn't happened because there is no power. Others were being operated on first, and then the power went out."
Asked how long the outage had lasted, she said, "It's been two hours."
Najma, whose daughter was awaiting surgery, said, "My daughter's operation was scheduled. The power has been out for two hours. Her turn hadn't come yet. Someone else's operation was ongoing. She was waiting, and then the power went out. Now they've taken her downstairs."
— ANI
Reader Comments
Good to see the hospital had an OT with dedicated power backup, but the fact that a 550-bed facility's generator couldn't handle the full load is concerning. At least they prioritised critical areas—NICU, labour room, blood bank. But what about patients on ventilators? Hope PWD fixes the root cause instead of just blaming short circuits. 🙏
This is why hospitals in developing nations need mandatory dual-redundancy power systems. The fact that they're now upgrading from 650 kVA to 1,500 kVA suggests someone dropped the ball on planning. Patients like Najma's daughter shouldn't be told to wait downstairs mid-surgery prep. Hope this prompts a national audit of hospital backup systems.
As someone from the electrical engineering background, I can tell you: a sudden load increase from 650 to 1500 kVA isn't just paperwork. You need new transformers, cabling, switchgear—it's a big project. Kudos to Dr Loria for being transparent, but this should have been budgeted years ago. Our public hospitals always react after a crisis instead of preventing one. 💡
It's heartbreaking to read about Meenu Sain waiting two hours for her C-section. In a country where we celebrate "Digital India" and new airports, basic hospital infrastructure still fails women and newborns. At least the hospital staff did their best with alternative arrangements. But "doing their best" shouldn't mean patients suffer. 🥺
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