BHUBANESWAR: A day after the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) ordered comprehensive fire safety audits across all educational institutes of the state, Health and Family Welfare minister Mukesh Mahaling on Thursday reviewed the fire safety preparedness at the healthcare facilities and directed officials to further strengthen the safety mechanisms in these establishments.
The directive comes in the wake of the recent fire accidents in buildings, the latest being the fatal blaze at a coaching centre in Lucknow which claimed around 15 lives.
Chairing a high-level review meeting at Lok Seva Bhawan, the minister assessed the current status of fire safety arrangements in all government medical colleges and hospitals, district headquarters hospitals and other healthcare institutions. He also assessed compliance with previously issued fire safety directives.
Underlining that patients’ safety was the government’s top priority, Mahaling instructed health officials to ensure regular inspection and maintenance of firefighting equipment, strengthening of emergency preparedness, strict adherence to prescribed safety standards and making fire safety systems more robust and effective across all healthcare establishments.
The minister further said that safety of patients and healthcare workers were key responsibilities of the government. He stressed the need for advance preparedness and timely measures at every institution to effectively respond to emergencies like fire accidents.
The meeting was attended by National Health Mission (NHM) managing director D Brunda and senior officials of the Health department. Health officials at the district level also joined via virtual mode.