Power Quality and Electrical Safety in Hospitals

Introduction

Power Quality (PQ) and Electrical Safety (ES) of Hospitals need an urgent check

To improve safety, hospitals must impart specific accountability while building ‘collective responsibility’.

Hospital fires are on the rise. ICA India’s analysis shows that over 90+ minor and major fire incidents in Hospitals across various parts of the country have led to over 120 deaths during the pandemic. The series of fire incidents raise several questions on the safety and reliability of Hospitals

• Is this a temporary phenomenon or surfacing of a large-scale problem?
• Who is to be held accountable for fire safety? Hospital staff and management? Fire safety departments? Regulatory bodies? or patients?
• More importantly, what needs to be done now? Who needs to act? Where does one start?
• Above all, what is the solution to this emergency situation? What’s a systemic solution and how does one approach the same with a short and long-term view?

This study answers these and many other such questions. Reducing fire risks and Electrical Network Hazards requires measures that attack the root cause of the problem. This study assesses the state of Power Quality and Electrical Safety (PQES) of Hospital facilities, independently, as well as for their interconnected impact. The insights have been built ground-up and based on detailed field-level data. The study provides a much needed comprehensive analysis of the electrical safety risks perceived in hospitals based on data from surveys of management and facility managers, power quality and electrical safety audits and extensive visual inspection. The methodology of the study and observations show the way to develop a long-standing framework to assess fire risks and preparedness of Hospital buildings to fight the incidents of fire.