The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), under the technical guidance of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, organised a conference titled ‘Smart Hospitals, Safe Hospitals – Transforming Fire Safety and Emergency Preparedness in Healthcare’. The conference brought together policymakers, disaster management experts, hospitals, healthcare institutions and industry stakeholders to discuss ways to strengthen fire safety, emergency preparedness and healthcare infrastructure resilience.
Hospitals Need Regular Disaster Preparedness Drills
Professor (Dr.) Dinesh Kumar Aswal, Member, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Government of India, highlighted the close relationship between healthcare, disaster management and critical infrastructure. He stressed that hospitals must assess hazards, exposure and vulnerability to establish their risk profiles. In addition, he called for District Collectors to have access to hospital capacity information before disasters occur. He also emphasised that hospital disaster management plans should go beyond documentation. Instead, hospitals should regularly rehearse these plans to test their response capabilities and identify gaps.
Structural and Non-Structural Safety Require Equal Focus
Dr. Pradeep Khasnobis, DDG, DM Cell, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, highlighted the need to address both structural and non-structural aspects of hospital safety. He stressed the importance of smart detection and alarm systems, regular mock drills and comprehensive Disaster Management Plans for every hospital. Furthermore, he urged hospitals to practise not only internal emergency responses but also intra-hospital and inter-hospital coordination. Such exercises can help healthcare institutions mobilise resources more effectively during large-scale emergencies.
Stronger Coordination Can Improve Emergency Response
The conference highlighted the need for closer coordination among healthcare providers, disaster management authorities, fire and emergency services, technology companies, infrastructure stakeholders and industry. An integrated approach can help hospitals prepare for emergencies while maintaining essential healthcare services. Moreover, coordinated planning can enable different agencies to respond more efficiently when an emergency extends beyond a single institution.
Hospitals Must Remain Operational During Disasters
Professor Vinod Sharma, Vice-Chairman, Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority, emphasised that hospitals play a critical role during disasters and therefore must remain safe, functional and operational. He called for hospital safety to receive the same level of attention as other critical public infrastructure. He also highlighted the importance of disaster-resilient construction, particularly when public resources are invested in healthcare infrastructure. In this context, he referred to India’s efforts through the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) to promote disaster-resilient infrastructure.
Prevention Should Remain at the Core of Hospital Safety
Ayush Gupta, Co-Chair, FICCI Corporate Security & DRR Committee and Director, GAIL (India) Limited, stressed that prevention should remain central to hospital safety. He noted that hospital safety cannot depend on a single stakeholder or technology. Instead, hospitals, technology providers, government authorities and industry must work together. Because emergencies can cross organisational boundaries, he advocated an integrated preparedness and response framework that enables stakeholders to coordinate their actions effectively.
Digital Twins Can Support Emergency Preparedness
Dr. Aniruddha Roy, Member, FICCI Space & Geospatial Applications Committee and Chief Innovation Officer, Genesys International Corporation Ltd., highlighted the potential of geospatial technologies for hospital disaster preparedness. He discussed the National Geospatial Policy, 2022, including its focus on 2D and 3D mapping and digital twins. According to him, digital twins can help authorities and emergency responders visualise hospital infrastructure and assess different emergency scenarios. For example, digital models can support the assessment of potential fire-spread scenarios based on environmental conditions. Furthermore, providing hospital personnel and fire services with accurate building plans can strengthen evacuation and rescue operations.
Moving from Compliance to Continuous Preparedness
The conference emphasised the need for hospitals to move beyond a compliance-based approach towards a culture of continuous preparedness, testing and resilience.
Accordingly, the key elements of resilient healthcare infrastructure include:
Regular disaster simulation and mock drills
Updated hospital Disaster Management Plans
Early warning and fire detection systems
Reliable emergency communication mechanisms
Effective evacuation preparedness
Intra- and inter-hospital coordination
Integration with disaster management and emergency services
Use of geospatial technologies and digital twins
As reported by pharmabiz.com, by regularly testing plans, strengthening coordination and adopting technology-enabled safety measures, hospitals can improve their ability to respond to emergencies while maintaining continuity of critical healthcare services.