ELECTRICAL SAFETY
Electrical safety is a global concern
Timo Ohtonen, managing director and owner of the Finnish health tech company PPO-Elektroniikka Oy, and Gopa Kumar, National President of the National Federation of Engineers for Electrical Safety, discuss the continuing importance of electrical safety within Group 2 healthcare facilities, with reference to examples in India and Ukraine.
Electrical safety in Group 2 healthcare facilities remains one of the most critical challenges in modern healthcare infrastructure. Even minor electrical faults can have life- threatening consequences in operating theatres, intensive care units, and other high-risk clinical environments. While international standards such as IEC 60364-7-
710 provide a clear framework, effective safety depends on proper implementation, continuous monitoring, and staff awareness. Legislation, enforcement, and thorough commissioning inspections play a vital role in ensuring compliance – not only to protect patients and staff, but also to prevent costly outages and inefficiencies in clinical operations. Electricity is an invisible hazard, but with modern monitoring systems, training, and preparedness, its risks can be effectively controlled at relatively low cost. The lifecycle of an insulation monitoring system can exceed 30 years, making it both technically robust and economically sustainable.
Group 2 facilities such as OTs highlight the universal challenge of electrical safety in healthcare.
Country perspectives on Group 2 electrical safety In this article, we examine the subject from two contrasting perspectives. We first focus on India, where significant efforts have been made to enhance electrical safety in medical environments. This section has been prepared by Mr Gopa Kumar. We also present a perspective from Ukraine, where
hospitals have been required to maintain operations under exceptionally challenging conditions. Together, these examples illustrate both the diversity of operating environments and the shared importance of electrical safety in critical care settings worldwide.
Electrical safety in Group 2 medical locations Group 2 medical locations are the most critical hospital environments – operating theatres, intensive care units, and other areas where medical devices are directly connected to the heart or other vital organs. Even momentary interruptions in the electricity supply or minor leakage currents can put patients and staff at immediate risk. Currents as low as 10 mA may cause muscular paralysis and respiratory arrest, while slightly higher levels can trigger ventricular fibrillation. Remarkably, even microampere-level currents (10 µA) applied to sensitive regions of the heart can cause heart failure. Although it is often assumed that advancing technology automatically makes medical devices safer and more compatible, the reality is more complex. Leakage currents can still occur in both new and old equipment, caused by insulation faults, poor connections, or component failures. The rapid pace of development, combined with the increasing number of interconnected systems, can introduce new vulnerabilities. Reliable and proactive monitoring is therefore essential to anticipate and address faults before they compromise patient and staff safety. Relying solely on residual-current devices (RCDs) is insufficient. They act only after a fault current exceeds the trip threshold, shutting down entire fuse groups without advance warning – an unacceptable risk in environments where continuity of supply is vital.
International standards for Group 2 medical locations IEC 60364-7-710 is the primary international standard for electrical installations in medical locations. It defines the requirements for Group 2 environments and mandates the use of medical IT systems with insulation monitoring devices (IMDs). In Europe, the harmonised version EN 60364-7-
710 applies, ensuring consistent requirements across EU member states. Insulation monitoring is therefore compulsory in OTs, ICUs, and other Group 2 locations. The medical IT system provides an uninterrupted power supply during the first insulation fault, which is detected by the IMD and signalled through both visual and audible alarms.
28 Health Estate Journal May 2026
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