Bhubaneswar: The Orissa High Court has asked the judicial commission probing the March 16 fire at the Trauma Care ICU of SCB Medical College and Hospital in Kataka, which claimed 12 lives, to grant permission for repair and renovation of the damaged unit at the earliest in view of patient welfare.
The observation came while the court considered an action taken report filed by the Medical Superintendent of SCB Medical College and Hospital. According to the report, a joint inspection by the hospital authorities and the Roads and Buildings Division July 23 assessed the repair and renovation requirements of the Trauma Care Centre.
The report said fire safety installations in the Central ICU, located on the fifth floor of the Trauma Care building, can be taken up only after patient admissions are shifted. The 17-bed ICU is proposed to be temporarily relocated to three six-bed units within the building. One such unit is ready, while the remaining two were expected to become operational within a week.
Once the temporary facilities are functional, the existing Central ICU will be handed over to the Roads and Buildings department for the pending fire safety works, which are expected to be completed within two weeks of commencement.
The Trauma ICU is currently functioning from the ground floor of the Surgery Department and will continue to operate there until the original unit is restored. The SCB Medical College Hospital in Kataka, the state’s largest healthcare facility and widely regarded as the lifeline of the health service network, records an average footfall of 6,000 to 7,000 OPD patients every day.
