Archive · 25 Aug 2026
Maharashtra Orders Safety Audits for All Hospitals Statewide
The Maharashtra government wants every hospital to check whether it is safe.
These checks will cover fires, electricity, buildings and important medical equipment.
Hospitals must look especially carefully at areas where very sick babies and patients are treated.
They must also make sure workers know how to move patients safely during an emergency.
Hospitals will need to hold training and practice fire drills.
Problems found during inspections must be written down and fixed according to priority.
Officials must physically inspect hospitals instead of only checking certificates and paperwork.
Hospital leaders may be held responsible if delays or serious safety failures lead to an incident.
Maharashtra has ordered fire, electrical and structural safety audits for all government, private and charitable hospitals.
Health Minister Prakash Abitkar directed authorities to begin the inspections urgently and warned against safety negligence.
Audits will examine fire systems, electrical installations, building structures, medical gas pipelines and other critical facilities.
Special attention will be given to ICUs, NICUs, nurseries, operation theatres, evacuation plans, staff training and mock drills.
Hospitals must appoint fire-safety nodal officers, submit reports and assess every building and block every six months.
- Who
- The Maharashtra government, led on this directive by Health Minister Prakash Abitkar, and hospitals across the state.
- What
- A comprehensive program of fire, electrical and structural safety audits for government, private and charitable hospitals.
- When
- The order was announced on August 25, 2026, with inspections to begin urgently and building assessments to recur every six months.
- Where
- Across Maharashtra, including every building and block within hospital complexes.
- Why
- To improve patient safety, emergency preparedness and compliance with prescribed fire and life-safety measures.
- Scope
- All government, private and charitable hospitals in Maharashtra
- Audit areas
- Fire systems, electrical installations, structural safety and critical infrastructure
- High-risk areas
- ICUs, NICUs, nurseries and operation theatres
- Required actions
- Hospitals must record deficiencies and create priority-based plans to correct them
- Inspection frequency
- Each hospital building and block must enter a fire-safety assessment cycle every six months
- Accountability
- Hospital heads and institutional leaders may be held responsible for delays or serious safety lapses
- Oversight
- Hospitals must appoint fire-safety nodal officers and submit compliance reports