A Cardiac Center nurse was burned following the explosion of an oxygen cylinder at the Cardiac Center in Pamplemousses. His state of health is causing serious concern. His colleague, a nurse in her forties, had less serious burns.
Panic reigned when an oxygen cylinder fell in the intensive care unit of the Cardiac Center in Pamplemousses at midday on Wednesday, May 8. It caught fire and two staff members who were nearby were burned. A nurse was seriously injured in the face and various parts of the body. A nurse suffered minor burns.
They were rushed to the burns unit at Victoria Hospital, after receiving first aid at the Cardiac Centre. The nurse’s state of health is causing serious concern. As for the nurse, she is out of danger, as her husband told Radio Plus some time after the incident.
An investigation has been opened to determine the circumstances of this unfortunate incident, said Dr Sunil Guness, director of the Cardiac Centre. According to the Ministry of Health, when the cylinder accidentally fell, it caught fire and burned the two staff members in the process. This fire required the intervention of the Mauritius Fire and Rescue Services. The two injured people were evacuated by the Urgent Medical Aid Service to Victoria Hospital.
Following this incident, activities resumed normally. According to Dr. Sunil Guness, patients and other staff were not burned. “All activities have resumed: surgical interventions, angiograms and other procedures in the intensive care unit,” said the director of the Cardiac Center around midday yesterday.
This incident upset other staff members and is being closely followed by nursing associations. This is not the first incident of its kind. A few years ago, a nurse at Victoria Hospital suffered burns to his hands when an oxygen tank caught fire.
