NDMA to Prepare Guidelines for Hospital Safety

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will prepare guidelines for Hospital Safety and Preparedness to deal with on-site emergencies. This was decided after a brain storming session with different officers and experts at a meeting convened last evening at NDMA in the wake of the recent fire accident at AMRI Hospital at Kolkata. This had resulted in the death of more than 90 patients and has raised many issues about Hospital Safety. These guidelines will cover fire and all other hazards.

In his remarks, Shri M. Shashidhar Reddy, Vice Chairman, NDMA, said that in the past NDMA had 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, he said.

The meeting was convened to review the present status of hospital safety and understand the role and responsibilities of different agencies. It was attended by Members and officers of NDMA, representatives from WHO, UN Agencies, AIIMS, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Armed Forces Medical Services, Corporate Hospitals, Delhi Fire Services, experts from IITs, IIITs and NGOs.

Dr. Muzzafar Ahmed, Member, NDMA has been tasked with the responsibility of constituting a core group of experts and lead the efforts for preparing the guidelines for hospital safety and preparedness after wide consultation with all stakeholders. The core group, besides reviewing the present status, will identify gaps and look at international best practices. It will also look at the existing codes and other legal provisions and recommend steps for better monitoring and supervision of all safety measures.