Hospital power failure causes surgical patient's demise on operating table - Hospital malfunction leads to tragic loss of life during surgery
In a tragic incident at Scunthorpe General Hospital, a 10-minute power outage during a heart surgery resulted in a patient's death, according to the coroner's findings. The pathologist concluded that the delay in restoring power was a critical factor in the woman's demise.
The exact cause of the power outage remains unknown, but similar recent incidents highlight the critical need for reliable backup power systems. For example, during a spinal surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital, a power outage forced staff to complete wound closure using mobile phone torches, which is suboptimal for patient safety.
Another reported outage was caused by emergency systems overriding backup power and interrupting surgery, underscoring the importance of fail-safe designs in emergency power management.
To prevent such incidents in the future, hospitals in England can better prepare for power outages during surgeries by ensuring robust and fail-safe backup power systems. Regular testing of emergency protocols and having contingency plans that allow surgeries to continue safely without electrical power are essential measures to minimize the risk of fatalities.
Key measures to improve preparedness include:
- Robust UPS and Generator Systems: Hospitals must install and maintain high-reliability uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and backup generators capable of instantaneously taking over with no interruption during power loss.
- Regular Testing and Drills: Frequent and realistic power outage simulations help staff practice emergency response and surgical contingencies, ensuring rapid actions minimize patient risk.
- Fail-Safe Emergency Power Controls: Design emergency power off systems so they never override or disable backup power during critical procedures unless absolutely necessary, with safeguards against accidental triggering.
- Redundant Imaging and Monitoring Equipment: Provide backup imaging solutions or portable devices functional on battery power to continue critical visualization during outages.
- Clear Clinical Protocols: Establish guidelines on immediate surgical actions during unexpected power interruption, including temporary procedural pauses, manual interventions, or patient stabilization measures.
Implementing these strategies would help hospitals maintain safe surgical conditions during power outages and prevent avoidable fatalities like those documented. The medical team treating the patient on the operating table had been using a heart stent when the power outage occurred, and the pathologist estimates that the woman might have survived if not for the outage.
The pathologist recommends that operating room staff be better prepared for power outages in the future, ensuring that the tragic events seen in Scunthorpe General Hospital and other hospitals do not recur. Such power outages can happen and have happened in operating rooms, making it crucial for hospitals to prioritize emergency power preparedness to protect patient safety.
In this context, hospitals should consider incorporating robust community policies for emergency power management, making it a key part of their health-and-wellness initiatives. This policy could include vocational training programs for staff on how to respond effectively during power outages, ensuring the best possible outcomes for patients (Community policy, vocational training, health-and-wellness).
Additionally, implementing advanced vocational training for medical staff in the handling of medical-conditions during power outages can be crucial, as the lack of reliable power source can complicate procedures, potentially leading to adverse effects on patient care (vocational training, medical-conditions). For instance, the lack of proper lighting during a spinal surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital, due to a power outage, posed a significant safety risk to the patient (science).
