Emergency guidelines for hospitals in the offing
Following one of India’s worst fire tragedies in a hospital in Kolkata, the National Disaster Management Authority will prepare guidelines for hospitals detailing the steps required to be taken in case of emergency.
At a brain-storming on Friday evening, the NDMA has decided to constitute a core group within the next one week for preparing the hospital safety guidelines after consultation with all stakeholders.
The core group will identify gaps, look at international best practices and existing codes as well as other legal provisions to recommend steps for better monitoring and supervision of all safety measures. The action points in the guidelines will also identify agencies responsible for implementing them.
The brain-storming was convened in the wake of last week’s fire accident at AMRI Hospitals in Kolkata which killed more than 90 people, most of whom are patients. The accident has raised many issues on hospital safety. The NDMA guideline would cover fire and all other hazards, official sources said.
“In the past NDMA issued guidelines for medical preparedness and mass causality management but it largely dealt with preparedness of hospitals to deal with disasters outside the hospital. We have to now address this major issue of emergencies inside the hospitals both in the government and private sectors in the country,” said M Shashidhar Reddy, vice chairman, NDMA.
