12 January,2021 05:01 AM IST | Mumbai | Prajakta Kasale
Charred remains of furniture and other equipment at the Bhandara General Hospital where a fire broke out on Saturday. File pic
In the wake of a fire incident that killed 10 newborn babies at a hospital in Bhandara district, the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) has begun audits of all public and private hospitals and nursing homes in the city for compliance with safety regulations.
The Bhandara hospital fire raised suspicion on safety compliance in medical institutions, prompting the civic body to direct audits.
"We started the audits today, and it will take around one month. However, the instructions have been given to finish the audits as soon as possible. Notices for compliance of the fire safety rules will then be sent to the hospitals," Suresh Kakani, the additional municipal commissioner, said on Monday.
There are around 1,400 private hospitals, nursing homes and trust hospitals, and 50 civic-run hospitals, including medical colleges, specialised, peripheral and maternity hospitals.
A civic official said the BMC is taking extra care at Jumbo COVID facilities, where fire audits are held every month. Officials examine fire safety equipment, train the staff and conduct fire drill regularly, he said. A fire engine has also been deployed 24X7 at the centres.
The MFB had last conducted fire audits of medical institutions following an incident of fire in a dedicated COVID-19 hospital in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, in August 2020. However, there is lack of clarity on the audit reports and the subsequent compliance report from the hospitals.
"There were lapses in some of the hospitals [last year], like dysfunctional fire extinguishers; staff were not trained to use fire equipment and there were issues in electrical wiring. Notices were sent to the hospitals to comply with the fire safety norms, but it is an ongoing process. Most of the hospitals comply with the norms after a notice. So we cannot treat them as a defaulter," said Kakani.
In early 2018, mid-day had conducted its own fire safety audit of some of Mumbai©s biggest hospitals and found major lapses, following which the BMC carried out inspections of all the institutions. However, the situation seems to have not changed much.
