The saddest news of the day arrives from Orissa’s capital Bhubaneswar, where 22 people were killed and over 120 found injured in a fire breakout, which resulted from a short-circuit in SUM hospital, on Monday evening.
People were Left to Die Inside as Hospital Staff Fled from Spot
As per the sources, the fire was first spotted by hospital staff in-charge of the first floor. A minor short circuit in dialysis unit transformed into a roaring fire, within a matter of few minutes. By the time hospital authorities tried to douse the fire using extinguishers, they’d already wasted 20 minutes without any success. Although the staff was active in reporting the incident to nearby fire-fighting authorities, it didn’t help since the unit arrived late on spot.
The situation went out of control when smoke spread over entire building, suffocating many patients and visitors in the process. Victims, who were on oxygen support, died due to asphyxiation.
Witnesses present on spot express their aggravation towards hospital staff, for their negligence and cowardliness. Till the last minute, hospital staff assured patients and their families that conditions were under control and there was no need for them to move outside. However, when the fire took an awful form, the staff fled from spot, risking the lives of hundreds of patients, who were present inside.
To top it all, the fire-fighting arrived too late, thereby losing the opportunity to prevent this calamity on time. By the time the flames died out, several people were already injured. The hospital management shifted most patients to nearby facilities like AMRI, AIIMS and Capital Hospital for treatment. However, when the said facilities received the patients, they were already found dead. While 8 dead patients were transferred to AMRI, the remaining 14 were shifted to Capital under the pretence of treatment. Most of these victims were ICU patients, which made things difficult for new hospitals that were clueless regarding their patient’s previous medical history.
Moreover, sudden transfer of a hundred patients added additional pressure on hospital authorities, who were already dealing with Malaria and Chikungunya cases.
Important Questions that Cross our Mind
- When Orissa High Court had made it mandatory for every government hospital and staff to install fire safety units in their building. Why did SUM lack proper fire extinguishing units?
- As per court’s directions, the government staff had to undergo rigorous fire-fighting training to prevent such mishaps. Why was hospital staff not prepared for the situation?
- Many witnesses reported victims jumping out from windows on first flow in an attempt to flee from spot. Why didn’t hospital have exit windows and evacuation hallways for emergencies?
Though Orissa CM Naveen Patnayak visited the aforementioned hospitals to inspect situations, this isn’t all! The government surely needs to mull over these questions.
The tragedy could be easily prevented if we had a vigilant fire-fighting system to save the day. Hospital management is the main culprit in this case, for cowardliness, lack of communication, poor fire-fighting arrangements and slow evacuation process. Attendants of many patients blame the state government for its loose healthcare policies and disinterest towards emergency services. It is necessary for Congress to strengthen emergency services, hospital management and medical facilities in state to prevent such mishaps in the future.
