Short circuit causes smoke, power outage at Acosta Ñu Hospital's emergency area

An electrical short circuit triggered a smoke incident and a power outage in the emergency department of the Acosta Ñu Children's Hospital, leading to the precautionary relocation of patients.

The incident occurred Sunday night around 11:00 PM, affecting the inpatient area of the emergency department. Hospital maintenance staff identified a short circuit that produced smoke in a small section behind the main building. Firefighters responded and controlled the situation, while hospital personnel are working to restore the electrical supply.

Hospital director Jorge Castro assured that the situation is under control and poses no danger to patients. However, he noted that restoring power to the emergency area requires technical work, potentially involving intervention between the sector's electrical panel and the transformer. The possibility of using a generator to recover power in the affected sector is also being considered.

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It was a smoke incident. We alerted the firefighters, they responded immediately, and that was resolved.

In the interim, the hospital has begun transferring patients requiring constant attention and monitoring to sections with available power. Castro reported that six surgical patients were moved to the post-surgical intensive care unit, and one patient needing transfer to intensive care was also relocated. The hospital is prioritizing immediate patient needs while addressing the electrical issue.

The emergency department is currently operating with limited capacity due to the power disruption. Castro emphasized that staff are collaborating to maintain patient care and manage necessary relocations until the power supply is fully restored.

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The main challenge now is to restore the electrical connection of the emergency area. According to Castro, intervention is needed in the connection between the sectorial board and the transformer.