Show cause notices issued to 35 hospitals over expired fire safety certificates

The action follows a directive issued by the State Health Assurance Society, functioning under the Health and Family Welfare Department, on June 8. In its communication, the hospitals concerned have been instructed to furnish renewed fire safety certificates within five days.

According to The New Indian Express, SHAS has also cautioned that failure to comply with the directive within the stipulated period could result in the suspension of the concerned healthcare facilities. “The certificate is required to be submitted within five days, failing which your hospital will be liable for suspension due to non-submission of mandatory documents, constituting a deviation from the terms and conditions of AB PMJAY-GJAY,” the Society stated.

The hospitals have again been directed to submit the renewed fire safety certificate within five days. It has been warned that if the documents are not submitted within the specified time, the hospitals may be suspended under the Ayushman Bharat-Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana. The Chief Executive Officer of the State Health Assurance Committee has written a letter to 35 empanelled hospitals in this regard.

According to an ETV report, the list includes two hospitals in Angul, one in Balasore, one in Bhadrak, 5 in Cuttack rural, and 10 in Cuttack urban. Similarly, 10 major hospitals in Khordha, including AIIMS, Apollo, Sparsh Hospitals, Dr Agarwal's Eye Hospital, and Kar Vision. Two hospitals in Ganjam, two medical centres in Puri, one in Rayagada, and one in Sambalpur are named. 

In sensitive places like hospitals, a fire safety certificate is not just a formal document but an important matter related to the safety of patients, their families, and healthcare workers. The government has become more vigilant about such safety standards after a series of hospital fires in various parts of the country claimed many lives in the recent past.