A SEVEN-MEMBER committee headed by Public Health Commissioner Sanjay Katkar will probe into the fire at the District Women’s Hospital (Dufferin Hospital) and submit its report within eight days. The Government will take stringent action against all those found guilty, announced Maharashtra Health Minister Prakash Abitkar on Monday. He was addressing a press conference after visiting the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) where a fire broke out in the early hours of Monday, killing three newborns. Terming the incident ‘unfortunate’, Prakash Abitkar said the expert committee will examine all aspects of the tragedy, pinpoint the exact fault and recommend corrective measures to prevent recurrence.

 

“The committee will find out the exact cause of the fire. It will also look into irregularities, which prima facie appear to be of a serious nature, and suggest necessary steps to ensure such incidents do not happen again,” he said adding that the Committee’s report will be made public and responsibility will be fixed on the basis of its findings. “We had started a very good hospital here to serve patients. Unfortunately, today’s incident has forced us to take stock of shortcomings and act. We will have to take action against the guilty and it will happen in eight days,” the Minister assured. He said a meeting has been convened at Mantralaya on Tuesday to discuss fire safety measures in government hospitals, with a detailed review of fire audits.

 

Abitkar met the families of the deceased infants and consoled them. He announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to the bereaved families and said the State Government will bear the entire treatment cost of the 36 newborns rescued and shifted to other hospitals. He added that Schiller Company, Nagpur, which supplied the ventilator that allegedly exploded and triggered the fire, will be blacklisted if the charge is established. Later, Abitkar visited Hope Hospital, Murke Hospital, Parijat Hospital and PDMC Hospital and enquired about the condition of the newborns shifted there.