Bengal hospitals to undertake thorough check-up of firefighting equipment

The decision comes in the wake of fire incidents at Covid hospital in Maharashtra’s Palghar in April and Gujarat’s Bharuch district earlier this month

In the wake of recent fire incidents in Covid-hospitals in Maharashtra and Gujarat that killed several people, the West Bengal government has asked all state-run hospitals to go for a thorough check of their firefighting equipment to avoid any such incident.

A fire was reported at Patel Welfare Covid Hospital on May 1. (File photo)

“The number of patients coming to state-run hospitals is increasing every day and many facilities are almost full. All government hospitals across the state have been directed to undergo a thorough review of firefighting arrangements,” said a senior health department official of the state.

In April this year, at least 15 patients lost their lives after a fire broke out in a Covid-hospital at Virar in Maharashtra’s Palghar district. In another incident at least 19 people, including 17 Covid patients, died after a fire at the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital in Gujarat’s Bharuch district earlier this month.

“The heads of all medical colleges and hospitals have been asked to depute one assistant superintendent for this purpose. Similarly, the chief medical officers of health of all districts have also been directed to check the firefighting arrangements of all district hospitals under them,” the official said.

Hospitals have been asked to complete any pending civil and electrical firefighting work; district magistrates and heads of medical colleges can spend up to ₹25 lakh for the same without waiting for a nod from the state health department.

While there are more than 180 government hospitals dedicated for treating Covid-19 patients, 41 private hospitals have been taken up by the state for treating such patients. This apart, there are safe homes, rural health facilities and district hospitals where patients are admitted.

Daily-count of Covid-19 cases has shot up exponentially in the recent past with experts blaming the rise on election rallies that were held in April violating all safety protocols.

On Sunday, the state registered 19,117 new cases, taking the total number of active cases in the state to 131,805. As many as 147 Covid deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 13,284 since 2020.