Hospitals in Karnataka slow to carry out fire safety audit

by Featured NewsSafety

Only 44 out of 166 government hospitals in Karnataka, a state in the south western region of India, have completed a fire safety audit within the two week period set out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as fire accidents have been on the rise sue to summer heat, according to reports.

Modi spoke at a video conference with Chief Ministers on 27 April suggesting that all states conduct fire safety audits. Over two weeks since the Health Department directed 16 district and 150 taluk hospitals to complete the audit, only 27% have completed the exercise. The May 21 deadline has now been extended until the end of the month.

To aid he process, the Health Department approved ₹82 lakh for the fire audits of 166 hospitals (at ₹50,000 each hospital) under the National Health Mission (NHM), relasing the funds on May 18.

State Health Commissioner Randeep D. attributed the slow action to procedural delays: “Funds have been released to the 166 hospitals and the DHOs have been asked to facilitate the audit of hospitals in their districts by the end of this month. So far, 44 hospitals have completed the audits,” he said.

“The recent incidents of fire accidents in hospitals have reinforced the need for compliance with fire safety measures in hospitals across the State,” he added.

Commenting on fire safety in hospitals, C.N. Manjunath, director of the State-run Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, said: “Hospitals have a multitude of flammable materials, each with different degrees of combustibility, each reacting differently to heat and fire.

“It is mandatory for hospitals to have smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, a fire escape route plan, fire exit LED signages with two hours power backup, fluorescent arrow directions and adequate space for fire tenders to operate.”

Seven coronavirus patients die in Alexandria hospital fire, Egypt

by Middle East - Featured News Archives

At least seven people have died after a fire broke out in an intensive care unit in an Egyptian hospital. The fire was in the coronavirus ward of a private hospital in Alexandria.

The source of the fire is thought to be an electric short-circuit in the air conditioning unit on the ward. Nurses heard the unit explode and tried to put out the flames but the ward was engulfed in thick smoke, according to AP.

It’s the second such fire over the course of the pandemic after a fire broke out last month at a coronavirus isolation centre in Cairo. Medics have been warning since the start of Egypt’s pandemic that the healthcare system is about to collapse partly because of chronic underfunding and outdated equipment after years of government neglect.

Already entire hospitals and departments across the country have had to shut their doors after becoming overwhelmed with Covid cases and large numbers of infections among the medical staff.

Doctors have complained that there is not enough space in ICU centres whilst Egyptians have resorted to social media to try and find beds.

In one widely shared case, a video was posted of a woman asleep on the pavement outside a hospital after being rejected from several health care centres due to lack of beds and sufficient medication.

Despite this, the government is restarting its economy with restaurants, cafes, churches and mosques opening their doors.

The country’s medical union has warned that this could overwhelm the healthcare system.

Egypt officially has 66,754 total cases and 2,872 deaths though experts have warned the real figure is likely to be far higher due to lack of testing and government attempts to control the narrative in a bid to appear as though they are in control.