Hospitals get one month; government order gets longer
Telangana’s reported hospital-safety deadline is clear. The document that would make it official is still missing.
The reported hospital-safety deadline awaits a formal order and compliance record.
Telangana government hospitals have reportedly been given one month to complete fire, electrical and structural safety audits. The direction was issued at a September 24 review chaired by Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha, according to multiple reports.
The reported framework calls for fire and electrical audits every six months, structural audits annually, immediate correction of life-threatening defects, working-equipment checks, evacuation plans and mock drills in ICUs, operation theatres, NICUs and SNCUs. District collectors are expected to monitor compliance through district-level committees.
The important administrative detail is less glamorous: the formal Government Order has not been located. One report says the Health Department will prepare proposals for that order, including guidelines and a standard checklist. The exact deadline, hospital list, auditors, repair funding, penalties and public reporting system therefore remain unestablished.
The need is not theoretical. A CAG performance audit recorded hospitals without fire-fighting equipment, drills or fire-safety certificates, and said facilities without hydrants and smoke detectors were non-compliant with fire-safety norms. The government reported that 134 of 153 sanctioned fire-safety works had been completed by July 15, 2023, but supporting documents were not furnished to audit.
Telangana has the deadline in the headlines. It still needs the order, the audit list and the compliance register.