Subra: Safety audit to be carried out on hospital buildings aged more than 50 years old

PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry has identified 48 hospital buildings that are aged more than 50 years old.
Its minister Datuk Seri S. Subramaniam (pix) said many of the old hospital buildings did not comply with the current safety standards as it was not a requirement during the time of construction.
Among the oldest hospital in the country is Hospital Batu Gajah, Perak, which is 136-year-old, he added.
"Laws such as the Uniform Building By-law, which deals with regulations to be followed by buildings, was only introduced in 1984," he said.
"We are still using the buildings as their physical structure is still functional," he told a press conference at the ministry's building here.
Concerns over safety in old hospitals heightened following a massive fire that broke out in Hospital Sultanah Aminah in Johor on Tuesday, which had killed six patients.
When asked whether the old buildings were not required to adhere to current safety standards, Subramaniam said some buildings might not be able to comply to the standards practiced today.
"Maybe we might even need to demolish the building if we need to follow the requirements. That will be extreme," he said.
"Usually the Fire Department will provide safety advice (to old buildings). We will do what we can do," he added.
Subramaniam also said the 48 identified old hospital buildings would go through a safety audit which is expected to be conducted in another one or two weeks.
"We will start an audit on the current status of fire safety and preventive measures at hospitals aged more than 50 years old," he said.
"We will look at all the safety mechanism which we can impose to ensure this kind of thing will not happen again," he added.
Subramaniam said the cause of the fire in Hospital Sultanah Aminah is expected to be known after the Fire Department comes out with the full report of the incident in a few weeks.