Dentists fume over new staircase rule for upstairs clinics

The trade group of private dentists has called for health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad to intervene in the enforcement of a health ministry regulation setting out minimum widths of staircases for clinics situated on the first floor or upper floors of commercial buildings.

The regulation sets a minimum staircase width of 1.1m from the handrail to the wall on existing dental clinics. The Malaysian Private Dental Practitioners’ Association said it applies not only to first-floor dental clinics but also to all other private clinics situated on upper floors.

The association said an evacuation drill had demonstrated that a patient could be safely evacuated from a first-floor dental chair to a waiting ambulance despite the staircase width being less than stipulated in the regulation.

The association accused the ministry’s private medical practice control section of adopting the rule without sufficiently considering the structural limitations of older commercial buildings.

The association questioned why the regulation was being “unilaterally imposed” by the health ministry as building structural compliance and fire safety requirements were the responsibilities of local authorities and the relevant fire, rescue and safety authorities.

It said regulations must be implemented “with fairness and sound consideration of the circumstances surrounding existing premises”.