Over 250 hospitals in Indore switched off lights, displayed red cross signs, and mapped mass‑casualty plans during a 12‑minute blackout drill.
As dusk fell over Indore, hospital rooftops went dark and red cross signs came alive across 253 government and private healthcare facilities. Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr BS Setiya had called on every hospital to cover external lights and hang curtains over windows for a 12‑minute blackout exercise. Inside, lamps glowed softly, ensuring patient care continued even as the city outside plunged into simulated emergency conditions.
Dr Setiya explained that the drill served two purposes: to test blackout procedures and to ensure hospitals were ready for sudden surges of injured patients. “We approached all the hospital officials to follow the instructions of installing red cross signs that should be well visible,” he said, noting that no light was to show outside but that medical services would run uninterrupted indoors.
During the exercise, hospital administrators activated their mass‑casualty protocols. Staff practiced rapid triage setups in corridors and mapped routes from entrances to emergency wards, ready to receive large numbers of patients at once. Ambulance bays remained clear, and standby teams assembled in makeshift command centres. By the end of the blackout drill, each hospital confirmed that its external blackout, internal lighting, and casualty‑management plans had worked seamlessly.
Dr Setiya praised the hospitals’ swift compliance. He said that this coordinated drill offered vital insights into logistical hurdles and staff readiness. As India’s urban centres face growing risks—from industrial accidents to natural disasters—such city‑wide exercises help hospitals sharpen their emergency response, ensuring that when real crises strike, care continues without a flicker.
