Collector serves show cause notice to Sum Hospital

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Oct 19:

Khordha District Collector today issued a show cause notice to the management of Sum Hospital under the Odisha Clinical Establishment Act.

The Collector has asked the hospital management to show cause as to why the hospital’s clinical license should not be cancelled in view of the deficiencies in its fire safety mechanism, reports said.

In February last year, the state government had asked the district administrations not to register any hospital or renew their licence if they do not produce fire safety clearance certificate.

However, the district administration had renewed the registration licence of the hospital in July this year even though it had no fire safety certificate.

According to a July 7 letter of Khordha District Collector, “the certificate of fresh registration shall be valid from April 6, 2016, to April 5, 2018”.

The notice has been served to Medical Superintendent of the hospital-Puspa Raj Samantasinghar, who was arrested yesterday in connection with the fire mishap at the hospital. He along with three others has been charged under sections 304, 308, 285 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.  He was today admitted  to SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack today after he complained of chest pain.

It may be recalled here that 19 patients undergoing treatment at the hospital had died due to asphyxiation owing to the massive fire on Monday that originated from the dialysis ward on the first floor and spread to the ICU on the same floor. In the incident, over 100 others sustained injuries and were shifted to various government and private hospitals. With three more relocated patients succumbing, the death toll due to the mishap has risen to 21.