LAHORE, May 20: Patients had a hard day at Jinnah Hospital on Monday, as the hospital administration failed to restore electricity supply to the health facility for eight consecutive hours.

A source said Jinnah Hospital saw four-hour unscheduled loadshedding from 9am to 1pm on Monday. As backup generators too did not work due to a technical fault, the entire hospital remained without electricity for another four hours.

As the hospital administration failed to make alternative arrangements to restore power supply to the hospital, health care came to a halt, putting lives of many patients at risk.

A senior consultant said Jinnah Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Ijaz Sheikh was not available when doctors visited his office to inform him about the power breakdown and reaction of patients and their attendants to the situation.

It was said to be one of the longest spells of electricity loadshedding at the tertiary care hospital, where a large number of patients was under treatment at intensive care units, cardiac care units, operation theatres and emergency departments.

Patients were put on manual support when ventilators stopped functioning at Umar ICU and other units. “Attendants were seen using ambu bags to supplement oxygen supply to their critical patients at ICUs,” the source said. He said doctors engaged attendants when they found hospital staff inadequate for a large number of patients on ventilators at various ICUs of the hospital. Many operations were postponed due to the power breakdown after anaesthesia machines and other equipment stopped working at operation theatres.

Water supply to the hospital, especially third and fourth floors, also remained suspended during the loadshedding.

Dr Sheikh said no surgery was delayed at the hospital, as it had the backup to ensure health care to patients during loadshedding. In a statement issued on Monday, he said the hospital performed more surgeries in April and May this year compared to the same period in 2012.