Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) scored an ‘average’ rating in an audit conducted by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (Dosh) four years ago.

Dosh deputy director-general (occupational safety) Omar Mat Piah said the last audit, conducted in 2012, was a general one related to the hospital’s occupational safety and health.

“I can’t remember (whether there were problems found from the audit). But overall, it (the audit) was considered average,” he told Malaysiakini.

Asked whether the hospital had complied with the department's requirements, Omar said he could not recall as the audit was done “too long ago”.

“They gave me just the results only – ‘average’.”

But Omar said in the event of a fire, the department would not be called in as it was the responsibility of the Fire and Rescue Department to deal with the matter.

A fire broke out in HSA's Intensive Care Unit on Tuesday, killing six patients. It was reported later that the hospital had experienced more than seven fires in the past four years, though there were no injuries or deaths.

Dosh's audit is to determine whether a particular workplace has its own safety programmes and training, Omar explained.

“They have to identify the hazard, quantify the risk and they have their own risk-control programme. Then we will check whether they have implemented the risk-control (measures) to minimise the risk.

“(In this case), the hospital would identify the problem it is having and what control measures it has implemented to reduce risks,” he said.

Dosh would then provide advice and instructions on how the hospital could improve, he said.

Omar, however, pointed out that the hospital has its own safety committee when it comes to occupational safety and health.

“It has to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 and it has its own system to manage safety.

“Under the Act, the duty is under those who are responsible for the overall running of the hospital - the employer,” he added.

Omar also explained that Dosh does not have a specific schedule to be followed when it comes to conducting audits unless a report is filed.

“If they report to us – on something like an occupational disease or accident - then we will conduct an investigation.”

A day after the deadly fire, smoke came out of a socket at the hospital’s operating theatre, prompting an evacuation.

The Fire and Rescue Department had also revealed that a small fire a broke out in the ICU some 10 days before Tuesday's incident.

It was also revealed that the hospital had not conducted a fire drill for its staff for at least two years since 2014.