The fire at Bhubaneswar’s SUM Hospital has brought back horrific memories of the tragedy at Kolkata’s AMRI Hospitals in which over 90 persons had perished in 2011. Monday’s killer blaze which claimed 20 lives has left over 100 patients injured, many of them critical, who now seek medical attention at various hospitals of the State Capital. The incident has once again raised question marks on fire safety measures in health care institutions, especially private service providers. The mishap has showed that the SUM hospital staff were all at sea and not trained to handle incident of such a magnitude.
Had they responded instantly, lives could have been saved and damage minimised. It was not to be. While private hospitals have contributed tremendously to health care needs of the State, the same cannot be said of their commitment to the cause of safety in the event of a fire mishap that remains a major threat in hospitals which use highly inflammable and combustible substances.
There are elaborate guidelines in terms of building plan, fire equipment, fire-fighting training and awareness that hospitals must follow yet the norms are conveniently sidestepped to get approvals swiftly and without digging deep into the pocket. For, raking in the moolah remains their primary goal but that should not happen at the cost of the lives of people who come to hospitals with the hope of a fresh lease of life. What is appalling is the apathetic attitude of the government which has to ensure that health care providers — both private and government — stick to the norms or face the music. It is not the first time that such an incident has been reported in the State nor is it going to be the last. Yesterday’s mishap has shown the Naveen Patnaik government in poor light as regular enforcement and inspection were conspicuously absent. It must ensure that such tragedy is not repeated because losing patients to asphyxia is not just unacceptable but a crime.