‘All hospitals over 50 years old in the state are safe’

KUCHING: The Fire and Rescue Department ( Bomba) has assured that the seven hospitals in the state over 50 years old are safe.

This was the finding after the first phase of safety inspections (wiring) conducted by the department recently, state Bomba director Nor Hisham Mohammad said.

The hospitals that were inspected two weeks ago were Marudi Hospital, Kapit Hospital, Lundu Hospital, Bau Hospital, Sarawak General Hospital , Kota Sentosa Hospital and Rajah Charles Brooke Memorial Hospital

“The results from the inspections revealed a lot of information, which has been submitted to the Ministry of Health for action. The majority of the systems in the hospital are in good condition. They only need a bit of improvement to be done from time to time, depending on the needs,” he told reporters after the launching of Batu Kawah Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) programme at SMK Batu Kawah here yesterday.

Nor Hisham said to ensure the safety of government hospitals, medical staff should also undergo emergency courses provided by Bomba. This would also enable them to be the first responders if unforeseen incidents happened.

He said in the event of fire, hospitals must switch off their centralised air- conditioning immediately to prevent the fire from spreading.

“This is why such emergency courses are important in order for hospital staff to be aware of what to do during an emergency.”

On CERT, Nor Hisham pointed out that it differed from the Volunteer Fire Brigade. He said CERT volunteers were trained in various skills, particularly on emergency assistance during floods or fire.