Sushma Mohanty with her newborn child at SCB Medical College and Hospital. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, May 14: A seven-day-old baby had a narrow escape when a ceiling fan fell on the bed that it was sleeping on at Sriram Chandra Bhanja (SCB) Medical College and Hospital’s gynaecology department here today.

The incident that took place around 9am has raised questions about the maintenance of the hospital buildings and the safety and security of the patients under treatment.

“I was terrified to hear that the ceiling fan had fallen on the bed of on which my child was sleeping,” said Sushma Mohanty, mother of the baby.

According to Sushma, nobody was near her baby when the incident occurred. She was informed about it by others.

“I had gone to the bathroom and had asked another woman to look after my child. We are thankful to god that my child escaped without any injuries,” she said.

Sushma hails from Pitambarpur in Jagatsinghpur district and was admitted in SCB for the delivery. On May 7, she gave birth to a female child and she was shifted to the ward three days ago.

According to the family, the fan was in bad shape and despite several complaints no step was taken for its repairs.

“We had asked the authorities to change the fan as it was making a lot of noise. But instead of initiating steps for its repairs, they advised us not to use the fan despite such hot and humid conditions,” said Amit Mohanty, Sushma’s husband.

Other female patients and their relatives are now worried about the safety of their children in the ward.

“It is certainly a serious issue as the child would have died if the fan had fallen on her. Under such circustances, the authorities should ensure that all the wiring and old fans are replaced as they have become obsolete,” said Sushant Sahu (32), a patient’s relative.

Meanwhile, the hospital authorities have said that there was nothing to worry as the child was unhurt.

“Neither the child nor her mother were on the bed when the incident occurred and the baby escaped unhurt. Moreover, we immediately talked to officials of the general electricity department who have replaced the fan,” said the hospital’s emergency officer Bhubanananda Moharana.

“We have asked the engineering department to replace the old and obsolete fans in the ward. Moreover, we will also conduct an enquiry to ascertain the truth behind the patients’ allegation that they had brought the matter to the notice of concerned hospital staff,” said SCB superintendent D.N. Moharana.