Mineral Water in Obstetrics

It happened on a Sunday, but I came to know about it only on the subsequent Friday. On that fateful Sunday there was no water in the labor ward and emergency OT both. The residents contacted the administrative officer on duty, who in the usual manner said water would be available in half an hour. Many half hours passed, but there was no water. In the meantime the women were delivering in the labor ward without any water for the subsequent cleaning. A woman developed acute intrapartum fetal distress and required emergency cesarean section. The resident doctors asked the servant in the OT to bring a bucket of water from the nearby ward for scrubbing. “I won't bring any water,” he said flatly. “If you want to operate, you bring water yourselves.” “Let us wash up with sterile normal saline” one resident doctor said. “I won't give you any normal saline” the nurse on duty said. “If I do, all our stocks will get over. Ask the patient's relatives to buy mineral water bottles for scrubbing.” So the senior houseman took the Registrar's consent and prescribed four bottles of mineral water. The patient was already on the OT table. The relative of the patient bought the required bottles. Just when the residents were ready to open the bottles, the senior Registrar reached the OT and saw what was happening. She put an immediate stop to this activity and got the water bottles returned to the relative. They somehow managed to get some water and successfully managed the OT work though the taps did not have any water for 48 half-hour intervals, i.e. 47 intervals more than the half hour the administrative officer had promised. I hear they are going to install one modular OT in my department at the cost of 22 million INR. Perhaps they will arrange for dry cleaning when that OT does not have water.