NEW DELHI: In a move to avoid fire accidents in hospitals, the Union health ministry has set up a committee to review fire safety guidelines for hospitals. The committee, with representations from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) and Safdarjung hospital, will review the existing norms, the gaps in its implementation as well as the need for smoke management in
hospitals. The committee has been asked to submit its report within a fortnight, health minister JP Nadda said.The move comes in the wake of a major fire that broke out at Sum private hospital in Odisha recently.
Nadda held a meeting earlier this week to review the fire safety protocols which are being followed in all Central government hospitals across the country.
The committee also has representation from various organisations involved in hospital construction. According to a health ministry official, the committee has been asked to particularly look at fire escape routes mainly for intensive care units and operation theatres.
The fire claimed lives of over 20 patients and injured many others. The blaze was suspected to have been triggered by an electric short circuit in the dialysis ward on the first floor of the private hospital which spread to the nearby ICU.
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