In hospitals recommended quantity of water per day per person is

UPPSC 2017

Community Health Nursing

Easy

Appeared in: UPPSC 2017

Explanation

Hospitals require a substantially larger volume of water compared to domestic settings to maintain stringent standards of hygiene, infection control, and patient care.
The daily water consumption in a hospital accounts for various activities including sanitation, sterilization of equipment, extensive laundry services, kitchen operations, and direct patient care needs.
The accepted standard for water requirement in a general hospital is in the range of 250-300 litres per bed per day.
This high requirement is crucial for preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and ensuring a safe environment for both patients and staff.

Option A: The range of 100-150 litres per day is typical for domestic use in some areas or for institutions with lower hygiene requirements, like hostels. It is insufficient for a hospital's needs.
Option B: The range of 150-200 litres per day is the standard for urban domestic water supply. While adequate for a household, it falls short of the demands of a hospital.
Option C: While higher than domestic use, 200-250 litres per day is still below the estimated requirement for comprehensive hospital operations, especially considering laundry and sterilization.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Environmental Health and Sanitation in Healthcare Facilities as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Adequate water supply is a cornerstone of infection prevention and control in hospitals. Nurses play a role in ensuring water is used appropriately for hygiene practices like handwashing and patient care.
A shortage of water in a hospital can lead to a crisis, compromising patient safety by increasing the risk of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and hindering essential services like surgery and sterilization.
What if? If a hospital is located in a water-scarce region, it must implement robust water conservation and management strategies, such as rainwater harvesting and wastewater recycling for non-potable uses, to meet its high demand without compromising safety.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the core of the question: it's asking for a specific quantitative standard related to hospital infrastructure, not a clinical concept.
Recognize that a 'hospital' is a high-demand environment for resources like water due to stringent hygiene and operational needs.
Evaluate the options by comparing them to a known baseline. The standard domestic water requirement is around 150 litres. Logically, a hospital's requirement must be significantly higher.
Eliminate the lower options (100-150L, 150-200L) as they are too close to or within the domestic range.
Between the higher options, recall or deduce that the water needs for sterilization, laundry, and sanitation are extensive, making the highest available range the most plausible answer.

Concept Tested & Keywords

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E6 Parks TextBook of Preventive & Social Medicine part 2 — Subpart B (pp 233-449 of 464) p. 23-25