Hospital blaze: Ahmednagar district civil surgeon, 3 others suspended

NASHIK: The Maharashtra government on Monday suspended Ahmednagar district civil surgeon Dr Sunil Pokharna and three others while terminating the services of two nurses in connection with the fire in the ICU of the Ahmednagar civil hospital which killed 11 Covid patients.
State health minister Rajesh Tope tweeted on Monday night that Pokharna, two medical officers — Dr Suresh Dakhe and Dr Vishaka Shinde — and staff nurse Sapna Pathare have been suspended. The services of two staff nurses, Asma Sheikh and Chhana Anant, have been terminated.
“We have taken action against the six based on the initial information that we have got following the outbreak of the fire incident at Ahmednagar civil hospital,” Tope said in his tweet.
Seventeen Covid patients were in the ICU when the fire broke out on Saturday morning. While 11 patients died in the blaze, the remaining six sustained burn injuries.
Earlier on Monday, Ahmednagar guardian minister Hasan Mushrif said the district planning committee (DPC) had passed a resolution for taking “appropriate action” against Pokharna for the blaze.
Civil surgeon, three others suspended
Amednagar guardian minister Hasan Mushrif said a team investigating the blaze, headed by Nashik divisional commissioner Radhakrishna Game, will submit its findings within a week. When contacted by TOI about the DPC meeting, Pokharna refused comment. “I will not comment on anything related to the fire incident as it is under investigation,” he said. Mushrif said the DPC approved Rs 2.5 crore for the civil hospital.