The fire had caused severe damage to one OT and affected five others. (Express Photo/Varinder Bhatia)
Five operation theatres (OTs) which remained shut for three days due to a major fire in one OT on Wednesday night at PGI’s Nehru Emergency block started functioning on Sunday. Two more OTs, however, will continue to remain shut for sometime till they are repaired. Five out of seven OTs were closed after a major fire broke out in the OT number 3 at PGI’s Nehru Emergency late on Wednesday night.
The fire had caused severe damage to one OT and affected five others. Patients had to be evacuated from the OT and corridors of the emergency after the fire. Three surgical procedures were on in three OTs when the fire broke out. There are a total of seven OTs in the emergency complex of the Nehru hospital.
On Sunday, PGI officials said that the anaesthesia department was granted permission in the afternoon to resume the functioning of the five operation theatres. Earlier, the fogging and cleaning was carried out by PGI in the area. Dr G D Puri, head, department of anaesthesia, PGI, confirmed to Chandigarh Newsline that five of the OTs started functioning from Sunday. “The departments concerned have started using the OTs. The surgeries, too, were performed,” he said.
He said that two OTs (number 3 and adjoining OT) will remain shut till the required work is completed in the OT number 3. A committee constituted by PGI to find the cause of fire is expected to submit its report on Monday. The committee had inspected the affected OTs on Friday and also questioned the staff members who were present in the OT when the incident happened.
Preliminary investigations, sources said, have found that there was a spark in the needle cutter inside the OT which triggered the fire and it spread probably due to oxygen-rich environment in the operation theatre. After the fire, the institute had made alternate arrangements so that the surgeries are performed without any interruption at the Institute.