Short circuit sparked Bhopal hospital fire, says probe report

The report has been submitted by Bhopal collector Avinash Lavania to the state government. Further, UNI reports that the Additional District Magistrate Dileep Kumar Yadav submitted the report to the Chief Minister's Secretariat.

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported on the fire break-out at the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of the government-run Kamala Nehru Hospital at 8.35 pm on Monday, which led to the death of the infants. Three of the deceased kids were from the local region while the fourth baby was from the nearby Sehore district.

Also Read: Fire breaks out at Bhopal Govt hospital, 4 infants dead

The report quotes Dr Jyotsna Shrivastava, paediatrics HoD of Gandhi Medical College, Lavania that the incident happened when a doctor and a nurse were trying to open the ventilator of a child. However, as per a recent Times of India report there were sparks after they inserted the plug due to which the ventilator caught fire.

Also Read: Bhopal Hospital Fire: 3 top medical officials removed from post

The whole ward was filled with smoke by the time they used the fire extinguisher to put out the fire. The doctors, staff members, and relatives of the children broke the window panes to put the smoke and informed the fire brigade of the situation.

The report stated that Firemen, police teams, and officials of the district administration arrived at the spot who along with the doctors, health staff, and caretakers of the babies rescued "all 40 children in the ward", while four of them died later.

It further added that the babies were identified as the children of Arun, Raees Qureshi, Rashid, and Ankur Yadav. The deceased babies were sent to the mortuary and the ones who survived were identified by their parents.

The bodies of three infants have been handed over to the parents after the autopsy, whereas the body of the fourth child has been sent for a DNA test since the parents were unable to identify the baby. They said their child was swapped with another baby since the identification tag broke off during the rescue operation.

In wake of the tragic incident, the Madhya Pradesh government had removed three hospital officials consisting of Gandhi Medical College (GMC) dean, Hamidia Hospital superintendent, and the director of Kamla Nehru Hospital in wake of the incident. The Sub-engineer (electrical wing) Avadhesh Bhadoriya of Capital Project Administration (CPA), the agency which was responsible for the maintenance of the hospital was also suspended following the CM's orders.

Maintenance of Kamla Nehru Hospital was taken away from CPA and handed over to PWD.

The CM stated, "All the facts related to the incident should be brought before the public. The government has nothing to hide in this case."

Further, a different civil wing would be set up in the medical education department to take care of all the government medical colleges and associated hospitals. Meanwhile, the Kamala Nehru Hospital's responsibility would lie with the PWD at present till the establishment of the civil wing, he said.

The CM had called an emergency meeting with ministers and officials of the health and medical education department, where the additional chief secretary of health, Mohd. Suleman, who was assigned with conducting the probe into the incident, was asked to show his findings.

The CM had passed directions to remove the medical officials and establish a special unit for hospital maintenance on the basis of Suleman's report. Further, directions were passed for a mandatory fire and electric safety audit within a time limit, which would be reviewed by the collectors.

Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission (MPHRC) has also sought a report from the chief secretary, additional chief secretary of health, and the Hamidia Hospital in the Kamala Nehru Hospital fire incident where the newborn babies lost their life. The commission also enquired about the security measures set up in the hospital to prevent such incidents from happening.

The commission has directed the officials to submit a report within a week after probing the incident. It also asked about the security measures taken for the short circuits and the oldness of the electricity lines and instruments in the hospital. Further, it sought information on the people responsible for maintaining the electricity lines and instruments.

Additionally, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had also directed the Madhya Pradesh chief secretary to create an inquiry team, consisting of a senior administrative officer but not from the health department or medical education department of MP to probe the matter. They also enquired about the number of children affected due to the fire and the details of the hospitals where the babies were shifted.

This is the third time that a fire breakout incident has been reported from Gandhi Medical College, of which Kamala Nehru College is a part.