Ludhiana,23 Apr:Safety management is a very important aspect of planning in every form of infrastructure. Safety management as a whole includes aspects of not only fire safety, but also security measures in terms of safety from other unsafe encounters like thefts, pilferages, extortion, riots and natural calamities. Satguru Partap Singh Apollo Hospital is observing Apr 2008 as Safety month (10 Apr to 09 May 2008 which is an education and awareness-building campaign for improving overall safety in the Hospitals. Today a practical workshop on Fire safety was organized by Col H.S. Cheema, Chief Security Officer, SPS Apollo Hospitals.
In the workshop Col H.S. Cheema gave practical training to the Doctors, Nursing and other staff regarding the usage of the Fire Extinguishers . He also said that the safety measures in the Hospital should, be designed in such a way that safety of all service renderers, service recipients, infrastructure (property, other fixed assets), etc is ensured. However lone major aspect of safety management is fire safety.The hospital, as an infrastructure, has many heat-dissipating equipments, combustible gasses /fuel, chemicals, a lot of electrical wiring, etc. that are prone to hazardous incidents, if proper precautions not taken while planning the infrastructure. Adequate measures need to be considered, designed and practised to ensure safety to all. After taking adequate precautionary measures in the conceptual and design stage itself, there is a need to implement safety measures and protocols in the infrastructure, said Col H.S. Cheema Chief Security Officer , SPS Apollo Hospitals.He urged hospitals to follow following protocols :
* Prepare a guideline manual to be followed by all the staff for prevention and precautions against fire and related accidents.
* A manual stating actions/steps to be taken in case of emergencies should be effectively designed and followed stringently by all.
* The staff should be trained to handle such emergencies and chaotic situations.
* The organisation should call for regular safety audits and drills so as to train the staff effectively.
* The fire audit survey should be conducted as per standard norms and the changes if any should be implemented diligently.
* Appropriate delegation of tasks should be implemented for safety management protocols.
* Preferably a head/supervisor should be designated to look into the safety measures of any infrastructure.