The new owners of AMRI Hospitals have done a fresh fire audit and introduced new safety measures at their Dhakuria unit, over 12 years after a devastating fire at the hospital killed more than 90 people.
Manipal Hospitals, the new owners of the AMRI hospital chain, will be implementing recommendations made by a consultant firm that was brought in for renovation of the hospitals after the takeover.
Manipal Health Enterprises had in September last year announced the acquisition of an 84 per cent stake in four hospitals of the AMRI group, three of which are in Kolkata: at Dhakuria, Mukundapur and Salt Lake.
Officials at the hospital said the AMRI group had installed several fire-safety mechanisms before the takeover. That included a fire corridor connecting Annexe I, where the fire had broken out, and Annexe II. The corridor connects the third floors of the two buildings for horizontal evacuation of patients if a fire breaks out in any of the buildings.
Generators have been installed as a backup to operate elevators for patient evacuation if there is a power-cut during a fire. Sprinklers, both inside the false ceiling and outside, have been installed. “There are a lot of electrical lines between the false ceiling and the ceiling. So sprinklers need to be installed there,” said an AMRI official.
“However, Manipal Hospitals wanted to have additional fire and patient safety mechanisms in place and further upgrade the system,” said Rupak Barua, adviser, strategy and planning, Manipal Hospitals. The new fire-safety measures are being installed at all units of AMRI, he said.
Among the new installations are diesel-operated water pumps that will be kept as alternatives to the electricity-operated pumps.
“If power goes out during a fire, the diesel-operated water pumps will be used to douse the flames,” said an AMRI official.
A new fire-suppression system will be installed at “sensitive areas” such as the rooms housing electrical panels, servers and the UPS. “There will be extinguisher substances which will be activated once a fire breaks out and will fight the flames,” the official said.
After the 2011 fire, the Annexe I building was shut down. The Emami-owned AMRI group implemented recommendations by the fire services department and in December 2021, the state government gave permission to reopen the building. It became partially operational in 2022.
“Now there are 70 beds in the Annexe I building, where three of the six floors are operational. In the next fiscal, Manipal will invest nearly Rs 150 crore for the renovation of the building, installation of high-end equipment and additional fire-safety measures. Also, 125 beds will be added and all six floors will be operational,” said Barua, adviser, strategy and planning, for the Manipal group.
There are plans to install new machines for radiotherapy and PET CT scan and other equipment for a cancer unit at the Dhakuria hospital, said officials.
“Aesthetic” changes are being made before the rebranding of the hospitals
from “AMRI” to “Manipal”, the officials said. These include new facades and wall colours, which will be in line with hospitals of the Manipal group.