A STILL born child succumbed to burns when a fire suddenly broke out in the Operation Theatre (OT) and the children’s ward in Govt Medical Hospital, Rewa. The fire spread rapidly and soon fire fighters arrived at the scene. They somehow managed to bring the fire under control, but a still born child was burnt in this incident in the children’s ward. Hospital management placed the burnt body in the mortuary. This negligence at the hospital has raised many questions. As per the information received, fire spread from the scrub room in the OT where electrical wires were hanging loose and a short circuit occurred, then fire quickly spread throughout the entire OT.

 

In the afternoon, Kanchana Saket, wife of Ramsakha, a resi dent of Ahirgaon in Satna dis trict, was undergoing surgery. BRIEFS Fire being extinguished which broke in OT at GMH, Rewa. When the fire broke out, the woman was taken to the emer gency OT. Her abdomen was stitched up there on a stretcher. She was then admitted to the ICU of the surgery ward. Hospital management claim that lady delivered a dead child, which was kept at children ward. It took an hour and a half to bring the fire under control. Before fire fighters arrived, the staff used fire extinguishers, but all were expired.

 

Their expiry date had passed in September. Because of this, they were ineffective. Fortunately, the oxygen gas cylinders kept inside the OT did not explode, otherwise the entire building would have been destroyed. The paediatrics department is located directly above the gynaecology operating room. The smoke from the fire reached sev eral wards. This caused panic. As soon as people received infor mation about the fire, everyone started running. Those whose children were admitted to the wards left their children and fled. The hospital was empty within minutes. “An investigation will be con ducted into the matter.

 

The hospital management stated that the woman was in a high-risk zone. The baby was stillborn”, informed BS Jamod, Commissioner, Rewa Division, Rewa. “It has been confirmed that the incident was caused by a short circuit. This incident is unfortunate. An investigation will be conducted. We will try to prevent such incidents from happening again. We are managing with the resources we have”, said Dr. Sunil Agarwal, Dean, Medical College Rewa.