After a series of fire incidents in hospitals throughout Maharashtra during the pandemic, an audit has been conducted in over 500 government hospitals. In response to the need for fire safety compliance in these healthcare facilities, the state has allocated a fund of Rs 200 crore for the first time.
Within the district planning and development committee (DPDC), 25 percent of the funds have been specifically designated for the health sector. N Ramaswamy, the commissioner of the National Health Mission in Maharashtra, stated, “A fund of Rs 200 crore has been sanctioned for the compliance of fire safety measures in hospitals.” Currently, Rs 19 crore has already been released by the state for the implementation of fire safety measures.
The urgency for these safety measures arises from tragic incidents in 2021, where 53 lives were lost in hospital fires, primarily affecting Covid-19 patients. The unfortunate series of events began with a devastating fire at Bhandara District Hospital on January 9, resulting in the loss of ten infants. Subsequent incidents occurred in Mumbai, with the most severe on November 6 at Ahmednagar Civil Hospital’s ICU, claiming the lives of 14 Covid patients. Investigations revealed a lack of adequate fire-fighting equipment in many Covid care centers and hospitals.
In April, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray instructed all districts to audit hospitals to assess fire safety rule violations. With the audit now completed, the state aims to address identified gaps within the next six months.
Over the past three months, 511 tertiary-care and peripheral hospitals, excluding primary health centers, were audited by the state under the Public Works Department (PWD). N Ramaswamy explained, “The fire safety gaps have been analyzed for total compliance. The work has been initiated for the implementation of the suggestions,” emphasizing that the audit covered not only medical colleges and tertiary-level hospitals but also primary health care centers.
