A sudden power outage plunged the Chattogram Medical College Hospital into chaos on Saturday morning, suspending vital diagnostic services for nearly two and a half hours and leaving hundreds of patients stranded.

The disruption began at roughly 8:45 AM, a peak period when the hospital corridors are typically packed with patients seeking urgent medical attention. Essential services, including X-rays and ultrasonography, came to a complete standstill. The outage severely disrupted daily operations, creating mounting queues at ticket counters and diagnostic departments alike.

According to hospital medical staff, while the facility is equipped with backup generators, these systems lack the capacity to support heavy medical machinery. Consequently, critical imaging services remained offline until electricity was restored at around 11:15 AM.

The Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) explained that the outage stemmed from scheduled maintenance and cabling work along a feeder serving the stadium area, which includes the hospital premises. Prior notice had been issued regarding temporary supply suspensions across several local feeders between 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM.

Shahidul Islam, the executive engineer of the PDB’s stadium sales and distribution division, noted that while the maintenance was pre-announced, supply was swiftly reinstated following a direct appeal from the hospital director, prioritising patient welfare.

The radiology and imaging department bore the brunt of the suspension. Dr Kazi Md Alam, head of the department, pointed out that the facility houses six X-ray machines that rely entirely on a stable power supply. Furthermore, operating sensitive ultrasonography equipment requires consistent air-conditioning support, which was similarly lost during the blackout.

Hospital Director Brigadier General Mohammad Taslim Uddin intervened directly to mitigate the crisis. Recognising the severe distress caused to vulnerable patients, he contacted the power authorities to expedite the restoration process. Normal operations resumed shortly after power was re-established, and administrative officials have since liaised with the power board to safeguard uninterrupted electricity supplies for the medical facility moving forward.