Medical services at Singra Upazila Health Complex in Natore were severely disrupted after the facility remained without electricity for around 13 hours, forcing doctors and nurses to treat patients under torchlight and mobile phone illumination.
The power outage began at around noon on Saturday, 12 September, and had not been resolved by 1am. The 50-bed health complex was reportedly plunged into darkness after a transformer supplying electricity to the hospital failed.
During daylight hours, medical staff managed to continue providing services despite the lack of electricity. The situation became considerably more difficult after sunset, however, when adequate lighting became essential for routine treatment and emergency care.
Doctors were seen using torchlights to attend to patients, while members of the Ansar security force held lights during procedures. Nurses reportedly relied on torchlight while administering medicines, saline and injections. The prolonged outage created additional difficulties for staff dealing with patients requiring urgent attention.
A doctor working in the emergency department said patients of different ages, including children and elderly people, were receiving treatment at the hospital. With electricity unavailable for hours, medical staff had been compelled to use mobile phone lights to provide necessary care.
The outage also affected the hospital’s administrative services. According to the doctor, online ticketing for patients arriving to seek admission and those attending the emergency department could not be carried out normally on the day.
The doctor called for an uninterrupted electricity supply to hospitals and other critical healthcare facilities, saying prolonged power failures create difficulties for both medical professionals and patients.
Patients and their relatives also described the conditions inside the hospital as difficult. They said a generator was switched on in the evening, but it could not operate for long because of a shortage of fuel. As a result, many patients had to use the lights on their own mobile phones to take medicines and carry out essential activities.
The lack of electricity was particularly uncomfortable for children and elderly patients. Patients suffering from high blood pressure were also reportedly distressed by the heat inside the hospital.
Relatives of admitted patients, including Humayun Kabir, Asit Sarkar and Abdur Rashid, were among at least seven people who spoke about the difficulties they faced. They said they were at the hospital with patients suffering from respiratory problems, diarrhoea and high blood pressure.
According to the relatives, the prolonged outage created difficulties in providing gas to a patient experiencing breathing problems at the appropriate time. Patients suffering from high blood pressure also struggled in the heat. They blamed what they described as negligence by the local rural electricity authorities for the prolonged disruption.
Singra Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr Mujahidul Islam said the hospital had kept its generator running after the electricity supply was interrupted. However, it had to be switched off from time to time. He acknowledged that patients were suffering because of the situation.
The electricity authorities said efforts to restore the supply were already under way. Siddiqur Rahman, deputy general manager of the Singra zonal office of Natore Palli Bidyut Samity-1, said workers began repairing the problem after receiving information that the transformer connected to the hospital’s electrical line had failed.
He described the fault as complicated and said restoring normal electricity could take until around 9am on Sunday. He also urged patients and their relatives to remain patient while repair work continued.
The incident has highlighted the difficulties hospitals can face when electricity supplies fail for an extended period. Lighting is essential for administering medicines, giving injections and attending to emergency patients, while power is also needed for a range of routine hospital operations. For patients already undergoing treatment, a prolonged outage can therefore add significantly to the hardship of hospitalisation.
