PMSSY Block at Kozhikode MCH Set to Partially Reopen This Week

Quick Summary

• The Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, plans to partially reopen its surgical super-speciality, accident adn emergency care block.
• The facility had been closed as May due to two consecutive fire outbreaks on May 2 and may 5.
• Smoke emerged from the casualty section on the ground floor during the first incident; operations will be resumed there this week.
• Other floors of the seven-story PMSSY block will be reopened in phases.Delays pushed reopening past July as initially planned.
• The State Electrical Inspectorate has issued NoCs for several floors but not for the ground-floor MRI scanning unit or UPS room where smoke originated previously.
• Concerns remain about building safety systems: water pressure in firefighting lines often drops below required levels due to underground pipeline leaks, causing motor malfunctions.
• Fire and Rescue Services have asked consultant HLL-HITES to resolve these issues and submit a report before granting their own NoC approval.

Indian Opinion Analysis
The phased reopening of Kozhikode’s PMSSY surgical super-speciality block highlights an urgent balancing act between resuming meaningful medical services and ensuring patient safety following back-to-back fires in May 2025. while efforts by authorities to obtain approvals from departments like the State Electrical Inspectorate are commendable, gaps remain concerning crucial safeguards such as firefighting system reliability; these require immediate resolution before full operations resume.

given that critical facilities catering to emergency care were derailed, operational delays likely impacted nearby hospitals absorbing redirected patients over months-a strain on their capacity that policymakers must address proactively across regions dealing with similar fire risks in aging healthcare infrastructure projects under schemes like PMSSY.

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