A power outage at the General State Hospital of Nikaia, in the wider Athens area, caused major disruption during a general emergency shift on Tuesday, June 16, according to healthcare workers.
Employees said the outage left parts of the hospital without electricity for around two hours, affecting emergency services, medical equipment and hospital operations. They reported that some medical procedures had to be carried out using mobile phone flashlights.
The incident occurred just four months after the opening of the hospital’s renovated Emergency Department, known in Greece as the Emergency Departments (EDs/TEPs).
Critical equipment affected during power cuts
According to hospital staff, backup generators operated only for life-support equipment such as ventilators and patient monitors, while other essential systems stopped functioning.
Healthcare workers said the power interruptions affected the CT scanner, blood and biochemical laboratories, computers and internet systems. They described periods when the Emergency Department was left in darkness, while medical equipment repeatedly shut down and restarted.
They also reported that some intensive care unit monitors were damaged due to the repeated power cuts.
Doctors and other staff warned that the situation created risks for both hospitalized patients and those arriving at the emergency department.
“Seriously ill and intubated patients had to wait for power to return before undergoing CT scans, with potential consequences from these delays,” healthcare workers said.
Questions raised over hospital preparedness
Hospital employees questioned why the backup generators did not support the full operation of the Emergency Department, laboratories, CT scanner and Intensive Care Unit.
They also asked whether all necessary preventive measures had been taken by the hospital administration and requested answers over who would be responsible for any possible impact on patients’ health.
Among their main concerns was whether guarantees exist to prevent a similar incident from happening again. They stressed that hospitals must have backup power systems capable of maintaining essential functions during electricity failures to ensure patient safety.
