AMRI-like tragedy still a worry

Eminent cardiac surgeon Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, whose Narayana Hrudayalaya group is engaged in the management of many private medical colleges in India, says they are extremely cautious after the AMRI fire tragedy but the mishap still gives him "sleepless nights". 

"This is the only thing which gives me sleepless nights. I have no other worries," he said when asked as to how the hospitals were ensuring fire safety measures in the wake of the AMRI Hospital incident here which had claimed 94 lives last year. 

"Now we do everything possible according to the law of the land. We are extremely cautious. But then you must understand that fire is an accident. All we can do is ensure to be well-prepared," Shetty, who was awarded the Padma Bhushan recently, told reporters here.

Since hospitals are heavy users of electricity and have an enormous number of sensitive electrical equipment, the risk of fire exists, he said. 

Founded by Shetty, the Narayana Hrudayalaya group, headquartered in Bangalore, has 14 hospitals in 11 cities with 5500 beds. 

"Some of them are owned by us. We manage the others while in some cases we work with the owners," Shetty said, adding although they have limited resources to build new hospitals, they can still ensure the management part.