Pune Municipal Corporation issues notice to 24 Private Hospitals
Fire NOC Renewal
Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has issued notices to 24 private hospitals for failing to renew their fire no-objection certificates (NOCs) and neglecting fire safety regulations. This action comes after an inspection of all 867 private hospitals in Pune, which revealed non-compliance with fire safety norms, raising concerns about the safety of both patients and staff.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that following the tragic fire incident at a baby care centre in Delhi's Vivek Vihar where seven newborns lost their lives, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) fire department has issued notices to all private hospitals and clinics registered with the civic body asking them to submit information about their fire safety measures.
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He further added that the hospitals had been given one month to renew their fire NOCs. If they failed to comply, action would be taken by PMC under the relevant sections of the Bombay Nursing Act. However, the process of compliance had already started by most hospitals, with five hospitals having renewed their NOCs.
Dr. Sanjay Patil, the General Secretary of the Hospital Board of India, explained that the issue isn’t a lack of fire safety equipment, but the failure to renew fire NOCs. He mentioned that private hospitals had to renew their fire NOCs online, but the website was very slow, which was a technical problem. It was suggested that the government should fix the glitches so that compliance with the rules could be ensured.
Dr. Patil also pointed out a discrepancy between government circulars and health department policies. While the government circular specifies that fire NOCs only need to be obtained once when filing Form A, the health department insists on renewals every six months through Form B.
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He went on to reference past incidents of hospital fires, urging the government to take stringent measures, including revoking the permissions of hospitals that fail to comply with safety regulations.
