Preventing fires at Lko govt hosps: Facilities flout norms, expert panel tips go for toss
Hindustan Times visited a few government hospitals to see if these recommendations were being followed, and found shortcomings with respect to fire safety norms being implemented.
The panel had made its recommendations on May 22.
The HT team visited Balrampur Hospital and Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee Hospital (Civil Hospital) and checked the reality of the recommendations of higher authorities of the health department.
The pathology department at Balrampur Hospital has two floors, and on top of it a temporary structure stands with walls made of aluminium and glass but covered with fibre glass sheet. Even the parking area near the emergency block has no roof but only a fibre glass sheet, a highly inflammable material.
At Civil Hospital, a portion of the OPD block is covered with the same fibre glass sheet and the ceiling is made of tin, whereas a portion of the emergency building is also covered with the fibre sheet. The wiring beside the OPD building is damaged at places and wires are hanging in the air, dangerous any day.
Civil Hospital chief medical superintendent Dr Rajesh Kumar Srivastava stated that the portion which is covered with fibre glass sheet and tin shed on top of the OPD building is a kind of dump yard for waste material. There is no electricity connection in that portion which can be harmful to a patient or staff. In addition, the portion of the emergency block is temporary which is going to be removed and an HDU unit is going to be constructed in its place.
Director of Balrampur Hospital, Dr Kavita Arya, stated that the portion over the second floor of the pathology department was temporarily made during the Covid period, which was used for sampling at that time. At present that portion is closed for patients and attendants. A safety audit of the hospital has been completed in which NOC for maximum wards has been received, she said .
The five-member panel, formed by the deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak and including director-general, health and family welfare, Ratan Pal Singh Suman, had recommended adequate fire fighting systems, unobstructed ramps and staircases, improved smoke ventilation mechanism, and an avoidance in the use of fibre glass and tin at government hospitals across Uttar Pradesh.
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