Fire Safety Challenges in Hospital Safety Index (HSI)

Abstract

Hospitals are a symbol of social welfare and the last refuge of patients, which is the most important issue of the health system. Patient safety is the first and most important issue for the health system. Before COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined the Hospital Safety Index (HSI) to measure hospital preparedness for disasters. During the COVID-19 crisis, hospitals faced many problems, including safety. Governments and health officials need to pay attention to fire safety. In the Covid-19 crisis, different conditions were experienced in hospitals, and the number of patients, inpatients, medical staff, equipment, and machinery in these critical conditions has increased significantly. This article in the form of a letter to the editor tries to point out the challenges and opportunities of hospital safety index tools to reduce hospitals’ vulnerability to improve their performance and resilience to disasters.

Keywords

• fires
• safety management
• disaster
• hospitals