JAGATSINGHPUR: THE District Headquarters Hospital in Jharsuguda does not have adequate number of fire extinguishers and the infrastructure to deal with a fire mishap. Neither does it have a fire safety certificate nor are its staff trained in dealing with such mishaps.
At any given point of time, more than 650 patients can be seen in the OPD of the hospital. Chief District Medical Officer, Damayanti Sahoo said the hospital has 20 fire extinguishers but 13 of them are not working. She added that the hospital administration has written to the District Fire Officer thrice for renewal of the extinguishers but has not received any reply yet.
Social workers said majority of the patients seeking treatment at DHH are poor and their safety is compromised by the management of the hospital. Similar is the case with private hospitals. According to reports, more than 10 private hospitals in the district are not fire safety compliant. Most of them are operating sans fire safety certificates.
Requesting anonymity, Jharsuguda fire brigade officials informed that the private hospitals in the district have been advised to install fire-fighting equipment but most hospitals do not even have a single fire extinguisher or fire alarm on their premises. Sources said the electrical fittings in most hospitals of the district and even the newly constructed Collectorate and SP office buildings are not fire proof.