Keeping in view the sequel of fire breakout incidents at Covid hospitals, the ministry of home affairs has written all chief secretaries of states and union territories suggesting them to draft an action plan to ensure that no fire incident happens in any of the health facilities, particularly in Covid ward facilities, adding that not only of government facilities but private facilities should also be checked thoroughly, the ministry added.
The ministry further wrote that a short circuit could be the reason behind the back-to-back fire incidents. The short circuit could either be because of the heat in the temperature or lack of maintenance or because of the high load on internal wirings within the facilities.
Asking for a detailed review of all health facilities by the health, fir and power departments officials, the PIB press release said, "The States & UTs have also been requested to issue directions to the concerned officials at various levels, that health facility should be visited by field-level officials, to examine internal wirings and availability of functional safety equipment as per fire safety guidelines, within these facilities, and necessary remedial action be taken immediately in case any deficiencies are found.”
Saving every single life is a priority, the Centre stated, citing that a large number of covid infected patients are being treated in Covid dedicated wards/facilities. Most of them are at ICU beds, oxygen-supported beds and are under ventilation.
“In most of the cases, oxygen supported beds, ICU beds, and ventilators are critical interventions, and therefore, it is important to ensure that there is the uninterrupted power supply on a regular 24x7 basis, in all the hospitals and medical facilities,” said Press Information Bureau in a statement.
It added – “…saving every life is a priority, and it is critical to ensure that required support is provided to all health facilities managing Covid-19 by taking requisite actions in advance to avert any incident, which could hamper effective health care delivery to patients.”
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On late Tuesday night, a fire broke out at UK Nursing Home in Delhi's Vikaspuri, where 26 patients were admitted to the hospital and all were receiving treatment for coronavirus, however, no injuries were reported. While in another incident, about 15 Covid patients were killed in a fire incident that broke out at the second floor ICU of Vijay Vallabh Hospital in Thane's Virar in April.