DHAKA, Feb 15, 2019 (BSS) – Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid
Maleque today said normalcy came back to 14 wards out of the total 16 wards
of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital (SSMCH) after last night’s
deadly blaze.
“Normalcy returned to 14 wards of SSMCH out of its total 16 wards and
patients are getting treatment after it caught fire last night,” the health
minister told a press briefing at his city’s Baridhara residence this
morning.
A total of 1200 patients were managed to evacuate from the hospital safely
during fire and shifted them to different hospitals in the capital, he said,
adding “of those, 385 patients had been sent to Dhaka Medical College
Hospital”.
He also expressed his satisfaction that no one was injured in the fire
incident, blaming a short circuit at a store room of the SSMCH at around
5.50pm for the fire.
The health minister said 17 firefighters units brought the blaze under
control after 8pm last night.
“I rushed to the place of the occurrence direct from the parliament and was
there all time. Home and Disaster Management ministers also visited the
place. We already informed the matter to Prime Minister, who is now in
Germany, and she has given necessary directions,” Zahid Maleque added.
Flanked by Director General of Directorate General of Health Services
(DGHS) Prof Dr Abul Kalam Azad, the minister said a seven-member strong
committee has already been formed to probe the incident and have been asked
to submit their report within three days.
“It was a wakeup call for us. Actually most of our hospitals are old ….We
have to modernize the firefighting systems in every hospital and check the
age-old electric wiring system,” he added.
Meanwhile, Director of the hospital Dr Uttam Kumer Barua said, of the
around 1200 patients, who were shifted to other government hospitals in and
around the capital after last night fire, more than 320 have returned to
SSMCH by 10.30am today.