HYDERABAD: Five days after a fire raged through the NICU ward of Shine Children’s Hospital at LB Nagar, killing a newborn and leaving four other children with severe burns, LB Nagar police arrested the managing director of the hospital Dr V Sunil Kumar Reddy and four others for alleged negligence.
There were at least six children undergoing treatment in the ward at the time of the incident, but none of the staff present at the hospital tried to rescue them, the police found. Their negligence had put the lives of all the children undergoing treatment at the hospital at risk, said police.
The duty doctor Dr Hari Krishna, the duty nurse at the NICU Sravanthi, the duty nurse at Pediatric ICU Shanthi Deepika, and the electrician who handled the electrical maintenance at the hospital Basheer, were arrested along with the MD.
Further, it was found that the hospital building did not have a second exit, though it is often crowded with patients. Moreover, there are no fire exits or fire escape warnings on any floor of the hospital.
Inquiries revealed that the hospital management had failed to install fire protection equipment, fire alarm system, and fire extinguishing sprinklers, as per norms. They were also running the hospital without mandatory permissions from the Director of Enforcement, Vigilance and Disaster Management, GHMC. They also had no fire NOC from the Fire and Safety Department.
Police said that Dr Hari Krishna failed to reach the ward immediately after the fire broke out. Sravanthi, meanwhile, stepped out of the ward at 01.57 am, closed the door and went away. Shanthi Deepika, who was in the adjoining ICU, also failed to make any effort to rescue the children in the NICU. Basheer, meanwhile, was held responsible for the ill-maintenance of electrical equipment in the NICU.