Four months after a fire brigade vehicle and a team were deployed at Dr BR Ambedkar State Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), Phase 6, to address fire safety deficiencies, several key works remain incomplete.
It provides outpatient consultations, emergency services, inpatient care and treatment across several medical specialities, including medicine, surgery, paediatrics, ENT and respiratory medicine. The facility caters to a substantial number of patients from Mohali and nearby areas. Another major concern is the absence of a ramp facility extending up to the fourth floor of the mother and child building. In the event of a fire or another emergency, the lack of such access could make it difficult to move or evacuate patients, particularly those unable to move independently.
The hospital, which developed from the existing Phase 6 civil hospital, was upgraded to serve as a teaching hospital alongside the medical college. The institute began its first MBBS academic session in February 2022. The hospital also expanded its outpatient facilities, with a new three-storey OPD block operationalised in August 2026 to accommodate five clinical departments.
As a result, the ward remained unused for nearly five months, affecting the availability of the new facility for children requiring hospital care.
He said the management had requested a fire brigade vehicle along with a team for one month around five months ago, but the work had not been completed, due to which the vehicle continued to remain stationed on the premises. With the pending works yet to be completed, the upcoming meeting between the hospital management and PHSC is expected to determine the next steps towards addressing the fire safety deficiencies. Until the required improvements are completed, concerns over emergency preparedness and the continued closure of the paediatric ward are likely to remain.
Shahbaz Singh Bal, assistant divisional fire officer (ADFO) said the fire management work at the medical college is still in progress.
