Power outage sparks fear of blood stock damage at Sangrur civil hospital

Samples sent for getting the viability of 100 units of blood checked; for emergency use, 70 units of blood from Patiala blood bank have been brought. The samples were collected by the local health department

Around eight-hour power outage at Sangrur civil hospital has sparked fear of blood stock damage as the hospital has sent samples of 100 units of blood kept in the blood bank for getting their viability checked.

Experts said a blood bank needs continuous-uninterrupted power supply to maintain the required temperature for storing blood.

For emergency use, 70 units of blood from Patiala blood bank have been brought. The samples were collected by the local health department.

Experts said a blood bank needs continuous-uninterrupted power supply to maintain the required temperature for storing blood.

Main electrical panel damaged due to short-circuit

The 180-bed district civil hospital on Sunday witnessed an eight-hour power cut following short-circuit, due to which fire broke out near gate number 2. Despite having a power backup in the form of a generator, the power remained disrupted from 2 pm to 10 pm as there was a fault in the main electrical control panel, floor panels and LT cables.

Senior medical officer (SMO) Kirpal Singh said, “At present, the units kept in the blood bank are not being used. Samples have been sent to check the viability of the stock and 70 units of blood have been brought from Patiala as a precautionary measure.”

“Power load has increased in the past few years due to expansion and commissioning of new services and facilities. Therefore, sparking in cables led to power failure. The power could not be restored due to a fault in the main electricity panels,” he added.

Tender floated for upgrading infra

A tender was floated on Monday for the upgrade of electricity infrastructure. Sangrur deputy commissioner Jitendra Jorwal said, “We floated a tender for repair and renovation of the existing 11KV substation, along with replacement of main electrical control panels, floor panels and LT cables in the civil hospital, immediately after getting funds from the government.”