Bokaro, Sept. 9: Bokaro deputy commissioner (DC) Sunil Kumar today directed the civil surgeon to serve notices to all 56 health hubs in the district to give details of fire safety measures adopted, following the loss of three lives in the fire at the ICU of KM Memorial Hospital on Friday night.
District civil surgeon S.N. Tewary has been asked to find out whether the health centres, including private clinics and hospitals owned by PSUs, have sufficient firefighters and if the staff are trained in tackling emergencies. Tewary has been told to give the hospitals a 15-day deadline.
The hospitals and nursing homes will have to provide details of location such as the road space in front of entrances, besides positioning of generators, ramps, water tanks, escalators and emergency exits.
The DC has also sought to find out if the hospitals have received mandatory no-objection certificates from the fire department or not.
Sources said Kumar also questioned the civil surgeon if he had inspected the hospitals and the last time health officials had visited the centres to assess their safety measures.
“We cannot take any chances. Timely inspection of the hospitals and nursing homes must be done,” the DC said.
Meanwhile, KM Memorial Hospital authorities began repairs of the ICU on today, replacing the damaged electrical fittings and ordering installation of new medical equipment so that the ward can be functional by tomorrow evening.
Owner of the Chas hospital Giridih MP Ravindra Pandey said the fire occurred due to a short-circuit, adding that the staff did a commendable job by shifting all the patients other than the three victims.
He said the hospital had adequate firefighting equipment and the ICU is well ventilated.
His son and hospital director Vikas Pandey said most patients were satisfied with the facilities. “The hospital has all the gadgets to fight emergencies, which is why out of 72 patients admitted till Friday, only 11 have left after the mishap.”
|
