Health Minister backs doctors

Guntur: Minister for Medical and Health Kamineni Srinivas said due to the sudden and unexpected power outage, doctors at the Government General Hospital on Wednesday performed surgery under cell phone torch.  

Defending the action of the surgeons at a media conference here on Friday, Dr Srinivas said that though a generator was switched on, it would  take three to four minutes to be ready for restoring power supply.

According to a preliminary inquiry report, when the power supply was suddenly tripped in the middle of the surgery, the doctors were forced to use the cell phone torch and continued the surgery. He said that the operation theatres at the GGH provided sufficient lighting and having all the necessary infrastructure to perform surgeries. 

He inspected the various wards at the GGH and interacted with patients. He also interacted with a woman who underwent a surgery in the plastic surgery operation theatre.  The Minister further said that after the submission of the final inquiry report, he would take action if necessary. 

Director of Medical Education Dr N Subba Rao, who came here to conduct an inquiry into incident, enquired about the circumstances that resulted in the performance of surgery under mobile torch.  

He interacted with GGH superintendent Dr Raju Naidu, plastic surgeons and told the GGH officials to install LED lights in the operation theatres immediately.

Minister Kamineni’s resignation demanded Addressing a media conference in Guntur city on Friday, CPI   leader M Nageswara Rao demanded the resignation of Minister for Medical and Health Kamineni Srinivas for his failure to develop infrastructure at the GGH. He said that the Health Minister would come to the GGH rarely for inspection. 

The CPI leader said that the Health Minister was not taking any initiative to develop the GGH and alleged that a TDP MP was a benami for contracts in the GGH. As a result, patients are suffering a lot, he lamented.  

He said that when they found rats at the GGH, they removed the contract workers but failed to take action against the officials responsible for the administration at the GGH.