At around 10 pm on Monday, the polytrauma ICU at the Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in Jaipur witnessed chaotic scenes as it began filling up with water due to a pipeline leak amid the biting cold.
Considering the seriousness of the situation, the hospital administration immediately ordered the evacuation of the ICU. All 14 critically ill patients admitted there were safely moved to other ICUs and wards in the emergency department. Doctors and nursing staff carried out the transfer.
SMS Trauma Centre Superintendent B L Yadav told The Indian Express on Tuesday, “I got the information at around 10 pm that the water from a pipeline is leaking in the ICU room. We called up the PWD officials, who checked the area and realised that a very old pipeline, which was covered earlier, had started leaking due to rust. They caught the main problem point and fixed it within an hour. The water was around 4 inches, and has been swept out. Tuesday morning, we fumigated the ICU to avoid any form of germ infection. New patients will be admitted from tomorrow.”
Following the incident, the principal secretary of the Medical and Health Department, Gayatri Rathore, visited SMS Hospital on Tuesday. She inspected the polytrauma ICU and other facilities, reviewed the situation with hospital officials, and issued necessary instructions to ensure patient safety.
Taking serious note of the incident, Rathore directed officials to initiate strict action against those responsible for negligence. She also ordered a comprehensive technical inspection of all ICUs in the hospital to prevent such incidents in the future.
Hospital officials said patient safety would not be compromised under any circumstances.
