LAHORE, Nov 19: At least six patients “fell unconscious” while several others, including attendants and hospital staff, suffered minor respiratory problems after smoke engulfed the Intensive Care Unit of Mayo Hospital’s emergency block following a short circuit on Friday.
There were conflicting claims about a fire in the basement.
The hospital authorities claimed only six patients, none of who fainted, were shifted to other wards for 20 minutes whereas the Edhi ambulance service said their volunteers shifted 40 patients of adjacent wards of the emergency block to other wards in post-fire evacuation.
A Rescue 1122 official said they received the emergency call of fire around 5:20pm and put out the flames using DCP cylinders only within two to three minutes. A top official of the hospital denied a fire, claiming only smoke engulfed the ICU following a spark in the switchboard.
The short circuit led to power breakdown in the ICU as well as the emergency block for some time and triggered panic among the patients, their attendants and hospital staff. The whole emergency block was evacuated within minutes. Medical Superintendent Dr Zahid Pervaiz said the smoke reached the ICU, situated on the ground floor, from a six-inch pipe coming from the basement where the main switchboard was installed.
“There was spark in the switchboard which caused a small explosion and burnt a one-inch wire piece. There was no fire,” he claimed.
He said the power breakdown occurred in the ICU only and the staff switched off the main board. He said six patients were brought back to the ICU after 20 minutes.
He said the old wiring system of the emergency block was being replaced and the process would take one month.This was the fourth incident of a short circuit in any public-sector hospital in the last four months. Earlier, two incidents of fire took place in the ICU of emergency block as well as Bano Miraaj theatre of Services Hospital and one in Jinnah Hospital’s main ICU.
Equipment worth millions was damaged in the fire at Bano Miraaj theatre and its allied theatres and a patient brought for the operation also suffered burns. Two patients, who caught fire in the main ICU of Jinnah Hospital, died of respiratory problems while being shifted to the other ward.
