Cuttack: The incessant rain over the past two days has not only battered normal life, but also dealt a blow to the SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) affairs with an open heart surgery procedure being carried out an hour beyond its usual time period, Friday.
According to sources, a team of SCB doctors were busy with an open heart surgery at the Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery (CTVS) operation theatre (OT) in the noon when they were troubled by a leaking roof. “Eventually, the leakage intensified, inconveniencing the surgeons. As a result, the surgery, which usually takes around four hours, was performed after five hours,” said a surgeon.
Soon after the procedure, CTVS department head Manoj Kumar Pattnaik took up the issue with SCB superintendent and administrative officer.
SCB administrative officer Kalpataru Behera, however, said that they have asked the Works department to ensure repair of the OT roof on a war-footing basis.
Sources said the CTVS department at SCBMCH, one of the largest state-run referral hospitals in Odisha, has been grappling with multiple issues with lack of doctors and modern equipment playing spoilsport.
“We neither have sternal saw, the blade to cut chest ribs, nor the eco-cardiograph to check if a surgery is advancing as per our calculations,” said a senior surgeon, requesting anonymity.
Notably, SCB is the only state-operated institution in Odisha to offer free-of-cost open heart surgery to persons below the poverty line (BPL).
When asked, the CTVS department head assured that the state government will certainly address the issues dogging the department.
“We have been performing at least 15 to 20 open heart surgeries a month with the available infrastructure. The state government will definitely address the loopholes in the department soon,” Pattnaik said.