Viral: UP Doctors Treat Patients Under Mobile Torch After Blackout in Hospital

District officials have reportedly taken cognisance of the matter after the video went viral.

Ballia, UP: Patient on a stretcher being examined under torchlight as the hospital faces a power cut.

(Photo Courtesy: Piyush Rai/ Twitter)

A viral video surfaced on Sunday, 11 September, showing doctors at a district hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia treating patients under mobile torchlight after the hospital faced a power outage.

The video was reportedly taken on 10 September from the emergency ward of Ballia District Hospital, when the hospital lost power supply due to heavy rains.

What Caused This Situation?

Speaking to the media about the viral video, Chief Medical Superintendent Dr RD Ram, who is incharge of the district hospital, said that while the power supply was lost due to rainfall, there was also a delay in "starting the generator."

"To start the generators in the hospital, a battery is needed. The battery is not kept near the generator because there is a risk of the battery being stolen, so there was a delay in taking the battery to the generator. By the time the battery was inserted, the light came on. Due to which the doctors had to resort to the light of the mobile torch for treatment."

Dr RD Ram told the media

District officials have reportedly taken cognisance of the matter after visuals from the hospital went viral on social media.

'Patients Treated in the Dark'

Multiple video clips show patients in distress, being examined, and treated in the darkness by staff with torches on their phones.

One clip shows a small group of people flanking a woman in a stretcher being examined by a doctor, while loud cries can be heard in the background.

Another clip shows a doctor inserting a cannula into a patient's arm while another person holds up a phone light for him.

In June this year, there was a similar incident in a Rae Bareli district hospital, where the power supply was disrupted for close to five hours.

Earlier in April, a similar incident at New Medical College Hospital in Kota made headlines, when a patient's treatment was carried out in the dark – under the light of a mobile torch in the emergency ward. The doctor also performed CPR on the patient but could not save her.