Bhandara hospital fire case: Maintenance of Govt hospitals under separate budget head of PWD, directs Lokayukta

Mumbai: On the heels of a Suo moto inquiry of the fire incident at the Bhandara District Hospital which killed around 10 infants, the Maharashtra Lokayukta has given a number of instructions to the state government to ensure fire safety which includes categorizing maintenance of government hospitals under a separate budget head of the Public Works Department (PWD).  

The decision has been taken so that the maintenance would not be overlooked since it is currently grouped under the common head for all government buildings of all departments. 

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Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported about the fire incident which broke out at the Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of the Bhandara district general hospital which killed around 10 premature babies. The committee probing the incident had held the civil surgeon and additional civil surgeon responsible for negligence. The committee also noted that the hospital lacked maintenance. 

Lokayukta is an anti-corruption authority or ombudsman, appointed by the government to represent the interests of the public. The Lokayukta report dated November 7 stated, "The suggestions given by the committee for maintenance of hospital buildings should be put under a budget head by the Public Works Department."

Government hospitals have been directed to conduct a fire safety audit and electrical audit from the PWD. Further, it directed the creation of a timetable for fire safety and electrical audit and for filling the vacant posts in the hospital, as per a media report in the Indian Express. The report said, "sensitive departments like Special Newborn Care Units (SNCU) should be assisted by the Medical Education Department and every medical college should adopt SNCU and provide technical assistance."

Talking about the Bhandara fire, the state government have been asked to inspect the warmers of the company involved in the Bhandara fire. It also directed the government to ensure the availability of all the safeguards before sanctioning a new hospital. 

Noting the non-functionality of the CCTV in the Bhandara fire incident, the report observed, "The general hospitals should have a full-time electrical engineer and a civil engineer. The CCTV cameras installed in hospitals should be monitored throughout the day and a proposal to that effect should be given at the district level, zone level and state level." 

The next hearing has been scheduled on January 2023 where the Lokayukta would check if the state government have implemented the directions passed by it. 

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