JEYPORE: Six major hospitals in Koraput district, that meet the healthcare needs of at least 10,000 patients everyday, are not fire safety compliant. Of them, five are managed by the State Government while one belongs to a private organisation. These are located in Jeypore, Koraput, Sunabeda and Damanjodi towns.
Under the Clinical Establishment (CE) Act, the hospitals are supposed to take a series of measures. The norms mandate sufficient space in a hospital/nursing home for movement of fire brigade, underground and overhead water tanks, installation of sprinklers and fitting of water hose to be run by generators.
However, both the Government and private hospitals in the district are not adhering to any of the rules, putting lives of patients at risk. Worse, fire security drills for staff are never conducted by the hospitals and they are not trained in dealing with evacuation and rescue operations in case of fire mishaps.
None of the hospitals has adequate number of fire extinguishers and the existing ones are not functional due to lack of maintenance.
Meanwhile, the district health authorities have reviewed fire safety in all the hospitals of the district following the SUM Hospital mishap. They have directed the hospital managements to implement fire safety measures at the earliest.
The SOUTHCO has also been asked to check all power supply lines in the hospitals to avoid short circuits.
Apparently, the Government hospitals in Koraput and Jeypore sub-divisions have damaged electricity lines in both their Indoor and Outdoor buildings.