Officials asked to plug electrical snags at Covid hospitals
BARMER: The Rajasthan health department has asked district authorities to rectify loopholes in electrical installations found during a safety drill at hospitals dedicated for Covid care, officials said.
In the second week of April, the secretary at the energy department directed the electrical inspectorate to conduct a safety drill at Covid-dedicated hospitals.
The move followed a fire triggered by a short circuit in the air-conditioner in the male neurosurgery ward of JLN Hospital in Ajmer in first week of April.
In September last year, a similar incident was reported from Bhilwara district. The urgency for safety measures was highlighted when a fire at a hospital in Gujarat’s Bharuch due to a short circuit killed 18 Covid patients on May 1.
During the drill in hospitals in the state, electrical inspectors detected chinks in installations.
The common loopholes included absence of lighting arresters that prevent electric short circuit; leakage of oil from transformers; non-installation of ELCB (earth-leakage circuit breaker), a safety device; and absence of insulating mat in front of panels.
The electrical inspectorate report also mentions that proper maintenance of transformers was not ensured; separate electric circuit for each bed was not there in ICUS; fire safety equipment were absent and authorised persons were not appointed at any hospital for electrical safety.
Taking note of the report, Sanjay Kumar, deputy secretary, medical and health, directed the authorities in the districts to rectify the deficiencies.
Dr Jigyasa Sahani, principal medical officer at the district government hospital in Bharatpur, said, “Following the directions by the state authorities, we have initiated the process to address the lacunae.”
In December last year, taking cognisance of a fire at the ICU of a Covid hospital in Rajkot in which five patients died, the Supreme Court had said the incident reflected absence of proper fire-safety measures at government hospitals.
The apex court had pulled up the states for not taking concrete action to address the problem.
Following the apex court’s directions, Siddharth Mahajan, secretary at the Rajasthan medical and health department, had directed all district collectors to review firefighting measures in government hospitals as well as Covid-dedicated private hospitals. He directed the collectors to coordinate with the officials of the health department, medical colleges and management of Covid-dedicated private hospitals to discuss firefighting measures and ensure regular fire-prevention drills.