Fire Incident: High-Level Panel Completes Its Probe At RIMS
A high-level committee has completed its inquiry into the RIMS Adilabad SNCU fire that killed five infants and will submit its report to the state government.
The high-level committee that held an inquiry into the fire incident at the SNCU ward in RIMS, Adilabad, has completed the process and would submit a report to the state government.
Five infants had died in the fire that broke out in the air conditioner that was malfunctioning for the last few months. Smoke spread in the ward when the staff attempted to put off sparks with fire extinguishers.
Initial assessments were that the fire scenario aggravated due to the use of extinguishers instead of switching off or stopping the power supply in the ward.
According to sources, the committee members sought details of the status of the air conditioners and their repairs in the past, including as to when those units were installed in the SNCU ward and how the hospital authorities regulated the load on the ACs to maintain the required temperatures in the ward for long hours.
ITDA project officer, Utnoor Manda Makarandu, who chaired the committee, interacted with a victim family living in Utnoor whose infant died while undergoing treatment at Nizamabad and recorded their statements. He also sought an explanation from hospital director Jai Singh Rathod.
The committee inquired about the alleged negligence of the authorities leading to the mishap.
The SNCU ward was packed to capacity. Rather, it should have been spacious, with all safety measures in place to move patients out in case of emergencies from the ward. This view was taken note of and stressed by the inquiry panel.
The committee also noticed that there existed a separate medical superintendent for the RIMS Hospital and a director for the Medical College, who’s only acting as in-charge for both the hospital and the super specialty hospital, while there were two deputy superintendents and four RMOs.
The district administration is seriously considering a plan for appointing a separate medical superintendent for the RIMS Hospital for its effective functioning, though RIMS is semi-autonomous.
Local political leaders and district officials had discussed this matter with top officials of the health department during health minister Damodar Rajanarsimha’s visit a few days ago to the RIMS, Adilabad.