Hospital KL back to normal after forensic medicine building fire

PETALING JAYA: It is business as usual at Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) after the fire at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine (IPFN) building temporarily shut down a few departments.

Hospital director Dr Nor Akma Yusuf said technical functions and systems at departments such as forensics, general medicine, pathology and the registration desk were affected.

“Electricity, phone lines and pipeline for medical gases were temporarily down but we managed to restore the systems and functions shortly after the fire.

“All systems are back to normal except for a few phone lines that are under maintenance,” she said in a statement on the hospital’s Facebook page yesterday.

She said vital operations like the trauma and emergency centres were not affected.

“We will continue to run tests on the systems to ensure everything is working,” she said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam visited the hospital to survey the scene of the fire and offer his assistance.

No one was hurt in the fire on Saturday, which was believed to have been caused by an electrical short-circuit.

Meanwhile, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has urged the authorities to carry out frequent audits on the safety of old buildings, such as hospitals, schools and residential apartments.