Status report on ramps, fire safety at hospitals incomplete: Petitioner

Appearing party-in-person at the Madras High Court, the petitioner noted that that the state’s statistical analysis may not reveal the true picture. “[It] does not reveal the total number of hospitals functioning in the districts and the number of hospitals yet to be inspected. But the report conveys that only 40 hospitals have been inspected so far, while there are at least 300 private hospitals in Madurai alone.” 

Citing the submission that 1,677 out of 3,815 hospitals have valid license, Shanmugam, who is also part of the expert committee, said it presented a misleading picture. According to him, though hospitals may be given valid license, there would be conditions for rectification, violations and discrepancies. 

Alleging that there was not a single hospital that does not have deviations or violations, he added that the fact that 1,400 hospitals not having a valid license was alarming and a recipe for a disaster.

Trashing the status report, he said his visit to 13 of the 19 hospitals revealed that most of them violated statutory building norms. Ramps were made available only to satisfy MCI norms, and at some institutions, these were unusable due to construction and design flaws. “Most patient cots are static in nature and, during disasters evacuation, is bound to be extremely difficult thwarting the very purpose of having a ramp,” he argued. 

Highlighting the case of Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital where the fire safety protocols are very poor, the petitioner said there would be a catastrophe in the event of a fire, as there are at least six cramped multi-storeyed buildings with more than 2,200 beds.

Also, finding fault with the format of inspection and terming the report as utterly incomplete, the petitioner sought three more months to extend the inspection to obtain a comprehensive picture of remedial measures that need to be undertaken at all the hospitals in state. 

However, the first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice P R Asha before whom the plea came up for hearing on Monday, transferred the case to another bench led by justice S Manikumar. The case is expected to come up for hearing after two weeks.