Power Failure Claims Life of 77-Year-Old During Heart Surgery

A 77-year-old woman died during heart surgery at Scunthorpe General Hospital when a power failure interrupted the procedure for ten minutes. The incident occurred on September 7, 2024, while Jean Dye was undergoing a procedure to treat cardiac disease. A recently released coroner’s inquest revealed that the hospital’s backup generator failed, leaving surgeons unable to proceed.

As surgeons prepared to place cardiac stents in Dye’s arteries, the unexpected blackout created a critical situation. According to the inquest, the loss of power severely limited the medical team’s ability to provide necessary treatment. The Emergency Power Off circuit activated during the outage, overriding the back-up electrical supply. This left the surgical team in the dark regarding the cause of the outage, and they had to wait for an engineer to reset the circuit.

After ten harrowing minutes without power, Dye died from what the coroner described as an “iatrogenic dissection,” a tear in an artery that can occur during medical procedures. The coroner’s report concluded that the delay in restoring power was a crucial factor in her death.

Paul Smith, the senior coroner, stated, “Had staff been aware of the exact cause of the loss of power on this occasion, and had they had the opportunity to reset the circuit without waiting for an engineer, the downtime would likely have been significantly reduced.” The inquest found that no definitive cause for the power outage has been identified.

The circumstances surrounding this tragic incident have raised serious concerns about hospital safety protocols during surgical procedures. As reports circulate, questions about the reliability of emergency systems in medical facilities are expected to intensify.

This case highlights the critical importance of ensuring that backup systems are fully operational and that staff are trained to respond swiftly in emergencies. The healthcare system faces heightened scrutiny following this incident, prompting discussions about the measures needed to prevent similar occurrences in the future.