Days after a video showing a patient falling from a bed inside the ICU of SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack sparked statewide outrage, fresh allegations have emerged regarding alleged negligence and staff misconduct within the hospital’s critical care unit.
The viral footage was recorded by Mahesh Khuntia of Jaimara under Binjharpur in Jajpur district. He claimed that his father was undergoing treatment for a heart ailment at the time of the incident. According to Mahesh, a patient admitted to a nearby bed fell to the floor inside the ICU, following which he recorded the video. The clip was later circulated on social media, drawing widespread attention and raising serious concerns about ICU management at the premier government hospital.
Mahesh has now levelled fresh allegations, accusing hospital authorities of negligence and improper supervision. He alleged that senior officials often remain absent, leaving junior employees to manage critical responsibilities inside the ICU.
“Where senior officials relax and let junior employees handle the work, such incidents are bound to happen. Security personnel, attendants and extremely junior employees act like authorities there. They try to dominate patients and their attendants,” he claimed.
He further alleged that the ICU corridor remains poorly lit during nighttime hours and that there is an absence of adequate staff between midnight and 5 am. “Not a single staff member can be found between midnight and 5 am. Patients are left to their fate. They survive only by God’s grace,” he alleged.
Mahesh also stated that his father passed away at the hospital a few days after he recorded the video.
Following the circulation of the footage, hospital authorities constituted a high-level committee to probe the incident. The investigation is currently underway. However, officials have not yet issued a fresh response to the latest allegations.
