Health authorities have ordered an inquiry after a video showing alleged mismanagement inside the medicine ICU of SCB Medical College and Hospital surfaced on social media, triggering widespread concern over patient safety.
The action follows an incident on Sunday when a patient reportedly fell from an ICU bed after being left unattended in the 40-bed high-dependency unit. The patient’s condition following the fall has not been officially disclosed.
Immediate administrative action
Pending the outcome of the inquiry, SCB authorities have withdrawn Subhendu Acharya from his role as in-charge professor of the medicine ICU. Three nursing officers — Bhagyabati Swain, Arijit Mallick and Sanghamitra Panda — have been transferred to other critical areas of the hospital. Jayant Panda has been assigned charge of the medicine ICU.
Hospital Superintendent Gautam Satpathy said any lapse in critical care units would be treated with utmost seriousness.
“Any lapse in critical care areas like ICU will be viewed seriously. We have taken immediate administrative action and strengthened supervision to ensure such incidents do not occur in future,” he stated.
Supervision strengthened
The hospital administration has initiated steps to reinforce internal monitoring systems and review duty rosters to ensure round-the-clock availability of doctors and nursing staff in all critical care units.
The viral video prompted public outrage, with attendants and families questioning accountability within the ICU.
Suraj Pradhan, an attendant of a patient, expressed distress over the incident. “We admit our loved ones to the ICU trusting that they will be monitored every moment. Witnessing a critical patient fall from the bed because no staff was present is shocking and frightening. Such negligence puts lives at risk,” he said.
The health department is expected to submit a detailed report after reviewing CCTV footage, staff deployment and standard operating procedures within the unit.