Investigating Safety Standards and Performance of Emergency Power Diesel Generators in Hospitals of Tabriz, Iran

Djavad  Ghoddoosi-Nejad; Amin Daemi; Ali Janati; Rouhollah Yaghoubi

doi:10.18502/htaa.v4i4.6863

Djavad Ghoddoosi-Nejad Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Faculty of Health, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
Amin Daemi Department of Health Services Management, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Ali Janati Tabriz Health Services Management Research Center, Iranian Center of Excellence in Health Management, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Rouhollah Yaghoubi Tabriz Health Services Management Research Center, Iranian Center of Excellence in Health Management, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/htaa.v4i4.6863

Keywords: Safety and Maintenance; Diesel Generator; Emergency Power; Crisis; Hospital

Abstract

Background: Power outage risk is one of the serious risks that could be eliminated by supplying electricity through the emergency power system installed in a hospital, such as diesel generators and uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs).

Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the observance of safety and maintenance standards of emergency power diesel generators in the hospitals of Tabriz.

Methods: This descriptive-analytical research was cross-sectionally performed in 18 hospitals of Tabriz in 2014. The data collection tools included a questionnaire and a checklist prepared according to the national standards and consisted of 87 questions in 15 categories. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 19.

Results: The average rates of observance of safety and maintenance standards of diesel generators in 111-question standards and 87-question standards were equal to 61.4 and 52.8%, respectively. Regarding the observance of the 19 standards, “ventilation” and “daily visits” standards with 28.94 and 96.24, respectively, had the lowest and highest degrees of observance in hospitals. There was a significant direct association between observing the standards defined for diesel generators with the number of hospital beds (P = 0.01) and the total capacity of emergency power generation by generators (P = 0.05).

Conclusions: The results of the present study indicate a low level of safety and maintenance for the emergency power systems of hospitals. These scores are not considered favorable for a system called “emergency”, and if the necessary interventions are not made in this regard, in the event of natural disasters and human errors, hospitals will face numerous problems.