Uganda, May 14 -- A dangerous electrical fault at Soroti Regional Referral Hospital (SRRH) has paralyzed surgical services, after a power surge shocked medical staff and forced the immediate closure of the main operating theatre.

The crisis peaked on Friday when a circuit malfunction sent an electrical current through theatre equipment. Senior consultant surgeon Sr. Mary Margaret Ajiko reported that the surge knocked an anaesthetist to the ground and caused an anaesthetic machine's socket to catch fire.

"I was shocked myself," Sr. Ajiko said, describing the harrowing scene. "When the sockets are switched on, touching any metallic object delivers a shock. If this happened to us while conscious, imagine the fate of an unconscious patient....