DAK seeks fire safety audit of Kashmir hospitals

Pulwama : A day after a massive fire destroyed Kashmir’s premier Bone and Joint hospital, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Saturday has sought fire safety audit of all the hospitals in the valley.
“The fire safety audit of hospitals should be done immediately to ensure safety and security of patients and staff,” said DAK President Dr Nisar ul Hassan. “Yesterday’s fire at orthopedic hospital is a wakeup call,” he said.
Dr Hassan said it is imperative to conduct safety audit of hospitals to prevent such incidents in future.
“If we are admitting patients, we need to keep them safe,” he said adding “patient safety should be of paramount consideration.”
The DAK President said we need to ensure that fire fighting measures are in place at health institutions to provide safe environment to patients.
“We need to identify gaps if any, and fill them on priority,” he added.
“Every hospital needs to have trained dedicated staff to maintain the fire safety standards,” said Dr Nisar.
He said the hospitals are required to carry out periodic mock drills for which participation of fire brigade officials and disaster management is mandatory.
“On Friday evening, a massive fire broke out in Bone and Joint hospital in Barzulla area of Srinagar district which damaged the infrastructure and machinery of the prestigious orthopedic center of the valley,” said Dr Arshad Ali General Secretary DAK.
He said it was with the help of local volunteers that patients were evacuated in time and shifted to other hospitals which saved precious lives.
“Firefighting personnel did a commendable job. They battled hard to bring the blaze under control,” he added.