The Centre on Tuesday stressed on the importance of ensuring fire and electrical safety in all health facilities across the country.

Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava, who led the nationwide pledge ceremony on the theme of ‘Fire Safety in Health Facilities’ at Nirman Bhawan here, as part of the ongoing Fire Safety Week, emphasised the need for fire safety planning, capacity building of all healthcare functionaries on hospital fire safety as well as need to organise regular mock drills on fire preparedness as well as patient evacuation.

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She also highlighted the need to develop a culture of safety at health facilities.

The Health Secretary urged all public and private health facilities to participate maximally in the activities and share the best practices with the Ministry to enhance and ensure the fire safety across all health facilities in the country.

Over 3,000 participants from public and private health facilities virtually joined the pledge ceremony and webinar on “Emergency evacuation and patient safety strategies” and “Fire prevention in high-risk areas of healthcare facilities”.

All the participants pledged to uphold the highest standards of fire safety within their respective organizations and healthcare facilities; cultivate a culture of fire safety awareness within their respective institutions by educating all staff and stakeholders on fire prevention, emergency response procedures, and the vital resources needed to maintain a safe environment; prioritize the safety of every patient, colleague, and visitor; embrace innovative solutions to prevent fire hazards and create a legacy of safety, resilience, and trust.

Various activities have been planned throughout the country during the Fire Safety Week, which will continue till April 25 in order to raise awareness regarding the importance of prevention and mitigation of fire hazards in all healthcare facilities across the country.

Notably, seeking active involvement of all States/Union Territories (UTs), the Health Ministry has circulated a detailed checklist urging all health facilities (public and private) to undertake fire and electrical safety audits.

“All States/UTs have been requested to organize awareness generation activities, especially in medical colleges as well as large tertiary level hospitals. Such awareness generation activities will include organizing poster-making/quiz competitions, holding demonstrations on optimal use of fire detection and suppression equipment/systems, etc,” the Health Ministry said.

Considering the need for active participation by the private health sector too, the Ministry said it has also urged Indian Medical Association (IMA), Central Ministries and Departments to participate in observing ‘Fire Safety Week’ activities through their State and District level branches.