Kerala government to form panel for safety audit of decades-old State-funded hospitals

The Kerala government will constitute a high-level committee to examine the structural stability of decades-old public buildings, chiefly State-funded hospitals, in the aftermath of the deadly collapse that claimed the life of a 52-year-old woman, Bindu, and injured two others at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) campus in Kottayam on Thursday.

Officials stated that the government would work out the modalities of the building safety audit scheme at a meeting of Ministers and top officials next week. They noted that the government was aware that most State-funded hospitals were decades-old and many had been constructed before the Kerala Building Rules (KBR) came into force. 

Hence, many did not fully conform to fire safety and search and rescue norms, making access for emergency responders difficult in times of distress. Officials stated that the ministerial audit would encompass all aspects of hospital safety. 

Meanwhile, the government has assigned the District Collector of Kottayam to submit a preliminary inquiry report on the MCH incident by July 11. 

Officials privy to the inquiry process said Public Works Department (PWD) engineers would report to the Collector on the cause of the accident and the buildings’ general structural safety. They would also conduct a safety audit of other buildings on the campus, including student hostels, canteens and elevated corridors linking different buildings. The Fire and Rescue Services department and the Electrical Inspectorate would aid the PWD’s audit. 

An official said the north end of the building, which collapsed, housed toilets. However, the MCH administration had closed the facilities after it had constructed a new array of modern toilets on the building’s south side. However, it reopened the old toilets on the south side after patients and bystanders complained that the new block was too far away from the post-operative ward.