Chandigarh, Jan 27 (PTI) Punjab Health minister Balbir Singh on Monday ordered power supply and fire safety audit at all medical colleges, civil hospitals, sub-divisional hospitals and block level facilities across the state.

This comes days after a video from a Patiala hospital showed doctors operating on a patient when there was a sudden power cut. The video went viral, inviting critical comments from opposition parties.

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According to an official release, the minister made the announcement of power supply and fire safety audit while addressing a meeting of all civil surgeons and medical superintendents on Monday.

This will lead to uninterrupted power supply at the government healthcare facilities, the release said.

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According to the directions issued by the health minister, all critical care units, including operation theatres, labour rooms and emergency wards must have UPS-based power backup for at least 30 minutes in case of a power outage.

Additionally, a fully functional generator set with an adequate supply of diesel must be present at all healthcare facilities, he said.

Singh also ordered the constitution of committees at all levels, including district, sub-division and block level hospitals, for ensuring uninterrupted power supply at all health facilities.

The committee members will coordinate with each other and provide reports on the functionality status of UPS and other power backup systems available at the health facility.

"These committees will make frequent visits at their respective hospitals to ensure there is availability of power backup and fully functional Genset," he said.

He directed all civil surgeons to ensure that backup power supply start immediately in case of a power cut, so that critical services are not hampered.

On January 24, opposition BJP had slammed the ruling AAP after a government doctor's video surfaced online in which a team of doctors was seen performing a surgery on a patient but there was no power.

One of the doctors is heard saying in the video, "It is not the first time that the electricity supply in the main emergency of the government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala has been erratic."

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