A nurse was reportedly stuck between an MRI machine and a bed. Ainah Cervantes, the nurse, suffered crushing injuries that necessitated surgery after the hospital bed was dragged uncontrollably into the MRI scanner by its magnetic field.
Safety is a main priority when it comes to using heavy machinery in any sector. A range of machines are used in hospitals for diagnosis and treatment. Recently, a bizarre event at a medical centre in California will make you question the safety standards required to use such advanced equipment. A nurse was reportedly stuck between an MRI machine and a bed. Ainah Cervantes, the nurse, suffered crushing injuries that necessitated surgery after the hospital bed was dragged uncontrollably into the MRI scanner by its magnetic field. Reportedly, the accident took place in Redwood City at a centre operated by California-based Kaiser Permanente.
According to Fox News, medical staff ran to the nurse’s aid after hearing her screams. Cervantes’ garments were smashed, and she needed surgery to remove two screws that had been embedded in her body. The nurse was attending to a patient on a bed when the accident occurred at a medical centre. As per the report, the patient slipped out of bed unharmed, but the nurse ended up being trapped.
“I was getting pushed by the bed. Basically, I was running backwards. If I didn’t run, the bed would smash me underneath,” said the nurse to the investigators from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA).
Further, the investigation stated that they found the Redwood City centre “failed to provide radiologic services in a safe manner,” as quoted by Fox News. As per the report, the investigators found multiple faults before the machine was used for diagnosis. Reportedly, no MRI staff were present inside the room; no one was ever screened, including the patient; and the door to the room was left open. Further, the safety alarm never went off, and the employees never received any proper training.
“This was a rare occurrence, but we are not satisfied until we understand why an accident occurs and implement changes to prevent it from occurring again,” said Sheila Gilson, senior vice president for Kaiser Permanente San Mateo, to Fox News. Tobias Gilk, an MRI scientist, told the portal that the machines’ magnetic force does not end once they attach to an object. “It keeps pulling and pulling and pulling, squeezing to try to get the magnetically attracted object closer to, in contact with the MRI scanner itself,” Gilk added.
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