Following the Ahmednagar hospital fire tragedy where 11 COVID-19 patients, mostly senior citizens, lost their lives, the Maharashtra Government has suspended the district civil surgeon along with three other hospital staff personnel, while terminating the services of two nurses.
State Health Minister Rajesh Tope tweeted late on Monday that Ahmednagar District Civil Surgeon Sunil Pokharna along with two medical officers — Suresh Dakhe and Vishaka Shinde — and staff nurse Sapna Pathare had been suspended.
The services of two staff nurses — Asma Sheikh and Chhana Anant — have been terminated.
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“Based on the information available in the Ahmednagar hospital fire tragedy, we have taken action against some officials…” Mr. Tope had tweeted.
Soon after the incident on last Saturday, the clamour for action against the district civil surgeon had been growing steadily with Dr. Pokharna facing flak from irate relatives of the deceased, political parties and activists for his alleged failure to ensure that safety measures were in place in the hospital.
According to sources, the decision was taken on the basis of the report submitted by a team of senior officials deputed by the Government to probe the causes that led to the incident.
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At a press conference on November 7, Mr. Tope had promised stern action against those found guilty on the basis of the report of the committee appointed by the State Government.
Despite the Health Minister and the district administration claiming that a fire audit of the hospital had been conducted a few months back, the district fire authorities said that the hospital was utterly wanting in basic firefighting infrastructure.
According to fire authorities, apart from fire extinguishers, the civil hospital lacked a concrete firefighting system and allegedly had no fire sprinklers, hydrants or even smoke detectors.