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Ludhiana: Installed 6 months ago, firefighting system at civil hospital awaits staff
Four firemen are needed to make it operational. Punjab Health System Corporation director Dr Anil Goyal says the process is on to float tenders for running and maintaining firefighting and detection systems throughout the district hospitals.
Installed months ago, the firefighting system at the civil hospital has been lying non-operational as the hospital has been awaiting permission from the Punjab Health System Corporation (PHSC) to hire firemen.
The system’s installation, which initially began in 2018 but was left mid-way, was completed in March following a minor fire on the hospital premises. The hospital awaits no objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department to make the system operational. However, the rules call for trained firemen in the hospital to operate the system.
When the installation was completed, Dr Mandeep Kaur Sidhu was the senior medical officer (SMO) at the hospital. She had in May stated that the hospital couldn’t hire firemen required to make the system operational without permission from the Punjab Health System Corporation (PHSC). She had claimed that despite writing to the corporation several times, there had been no response.
“The system is ready but before the Punjab Health System Corporation hands it over to us, we are required to have four trained firemen on board. We can hire firemen under the user charges category, but that can only happen with the permission of the corporation,” said Dr Sandhu.
Dr Harpreet Singh, who took over as the SMO in August, also claimed that there had been no response from the corporation ever since he took over. “Ever since I joined as the SMO, I haven’t received any correspondence from the corporation regarding the issue,” he said.
Meanwhile, fire officials claimed that besides lack of firemen, the system was also not properly installed. “The hospital authorities asked us for guidance in the operation of the system. We asked them to hire firemen to maintain and run it. Also the system isn’t properly installed. There are certain problems, that is why they aren’t getting the NOC,” said fire officer Maninder Singh.
PHSC director Dr Anil Goyal said, “We are in the process to float tenders for running and maintenance of firefighting and detection systems throughout the district hospitals.”
On April 9, the electricity panel of the oxygen plant at the hospital had caught fire after a short circuit. Although the flames were doused before any significant damage could be caused, the hospital staff were found struggling while using fire extinguishers. This raised concerns about the fire preparedness at the hospital, prompting the district administration to get installed fire safety equipment.
