Jaipur hospital fire: Repair work begins, Rajasthan human rights body seeks report from authorities

Jaipur, Oct 7 (PTI) A day after a massive fire ripped through SMS Hospital's trauma centre here and claimed six lives, work to repair the damaged neuro ICU began on Tuesday.

The Rajasthan Human Rights Commission (RSHRC) took cognisance of the incident and sought a detailed report from the hospital authorities and others, while a high-level committee formed by the state government to probe the incident launched its investigation.

"It was a tragic incident that not only claimed lives but also damaged the hospital infrastructure. Our priority is to restore the ICU and the operation theatre as soon as possible. Work has started on that," Dr Mrinal Joshi, the newly appointed trauma centre in-charge, told PTI.

"The team is working tirelessly to restore the system and other things. After the work is completed, a fire safety team will visit the trauma centre to check it and give its nod to function," he said.

The fire gutted the neuro ICU on the second floor of the trauma centre on Sunday night, killing six of the 11 patients on critical care support. Fourteen patients from another ICU on the same floor were also evacuated and two of them died later, according to officials.

The hospital administration, however, has maintained that only six patients died due to the fire.

The high-level committee formed by the state government began its investigation into the incident.

The committee, headed by Medical Education Department Commissioner Iqbal Khan, will look into the causes of the fire, the hospital's preparedness and response to the emergency, safety measures and steps to prevent such incidents in the future.

"The committee is looking into all the aspects which led to the incident," an official of SMS Hospital said.

SMS Hospital is Rajasthan's biggest government health facility, treating patients from across the state and elsewhere.

Taking cognisance of the tragedy, the RSHRC directed the authorities concerned to submit a detailed report on the incident.

RHRC Chairperson Justice G R Moolchandani directed SMS Hospital superintendent, principal secretary (health), district collector, police commissioner and chief medical and health officer, Jaipur-I and II, to submit a factual report, according to an official order.

The commission expressed deep concern over such incidents.

Victims' family members expressed anguish over alleged negligence of the hospital staff.

One of the victims was Bahadur, a labourer from Sanganer here, who was admitted to the trauma centre on September 30 after he suffered a head injury following a fall at home.

He underwent brain surgery on October 2 and was moved to the ICU for post-operative care.

Bahadur's relative, Ankit, who was present in the hospital when the fire broke out, said smoke was noticed in the ICU around 11:15 pm.

"Despite alerting the ward staff and urging them to open the electrical panel, no immediate action was taken," Ankit told reporters.

As the fire spread rapidly, thick smoke engulfed the ward and the hospital staff fled instead of helping patients, he claimed.

Ankit said after firefighters brought the situation under control, he asked doctors about Bahadur and was told that the patient had been shifted to another ward.

"When we reached there, the staff told us that Bahadur had been sent back to the trauma centre. By the time we found him, he had died," Ankit said.

Family members of other victims also shared stories of how they struggled to rescue their loved ones but could not get them out in time. PTI SDA DIV DIV