The system to prevent fires in the Hospital de Clinicas is inactive for "lack of hoses," says a report from the General Office of the Nation (SIGEN, for its acronym in Spanish). Despite having a water reserve of 150 thousand liters in the tanks of the complex, the hydrant niches are empty and there are also no lances or valves of opening and closing.

Also, of the 700 firewalls that the health center has, 80% is overdue or unloaded and, in addition, the control body detected that "between 250 and 300 new fire extinguishers are needed".

The 2006 report details the degree of "general deterioration" of the Clinics. The main board of the electrical installation is "obsolete" because it dates back to the 50's, when the building was built, and is located in a "poorly lit area, without signaling or any physical protection". From the "large consumption" recorded by the complex, SIGEN stated that "it glimpses, in the very short term, the possible presence of serious connection problems by the state of the whole facility."

On the other hand, there are buried fuel tanks in the hospital from the time the boilers were run on fuel oil. The Audit explains that although these tanks are deactivated, they have no technical treatment and therefore there is a possibility that there are gases remaining in the place and the risk of an explosion or ignition. In the printing area, meanwhile, SIGEN detected "inadequate environmental conditions". It is that volatile vapors of solvents, paints, inks and varnishes were registered in a space where flammable products, such as paper, are lacking, and there is a lack of both natural and artificial ventilation.

In the podiatry area, where templates are manufactured, pollutant solutions, based on formaldehyde and ethers, are used without any protection.

For the control body, the safety system of the Hospital de Clinicas is "inadequate." It is that, beyond the risk indicators of the complex, "there are no outlets (emergency) with opening out, or panic bars, or signs of any kind demarcating the escape routes." There is also no internal risk map or contingency plans.


The stairs of the center have broken steps and the danger of accidents is enhanced because the lighting is deficient. On the side of the elevators, of the 22 installed, only eight, three are in "possible conditions to make them work," and the other 11 are directly out of service. And there are two of the four escalators on the ground floor.

The Hospital does not comply with Law 24,314 of accessibility of persons with reduced mobility because, except at the entrance of Córdoba Avenue, there are no ramps or elements to facilitate the movement inside the establishment.

The Sindicatura also emphasizes that the conditions of order and cleanliness in the subsoil and on the roof are "terrible": there are remains of building materials and "lack of hygiene in general". In bathrooms the equipment is "obsolete", it registers lack of maintenance, losses of water, toilets out of service and "the environment is unbreathable."

In addition, in the Clinics it has also not complied with Law 24.051 that is related to the management of pathological waste. The collection is done in red buggies that circulate through the same lifts used by patients, students and staff. While for temporary storage, bags are used that are located next to the drinking water bottles for consumption, in front of the hall of the elevators.

The report says that drinking water tanks have not been cleaned and disinfected for at least 10 years. And in the central laundry, which is in the underground floor, most of the machines are out of use, broken or without spare parts, so their delivery had to be reduced and the center had to contract external suppliers.

The Hospital de Clinicas José de San Martín has a covered area of 135 thousand square meters, distributed in six towers, 12 floors and three underground. It has about 3,000 agents and, among patients and students, it is estimated that about 9,000 people visit the center every day.