Following massive protests over the Kolkata rape and murder case, the Centreissued order to increase security by 25% in all medical hospitals of the Central government. Issuing the order, the Centre said marshals will also be increased depending on the need in the hospitals.
A committee will be formed under the chairmanship of DGHS and he will take suggestions on the problems of the doctors. Union Health Secretary Apoorva Chandra issued the order and said that basic problems of doctors like rest rooms, CCTV facilities will be fixed and the order was issued to register FIR within 6 hours in case of violence.
Officials said that apart from the standard security protocol, the deployment of marshals would also be approved based on individual demands by government hospitals after they conduct their security assessment.
Official sources, however, said bringing a central law based on the RG Kar case “will not make any huge difference” as the alleged rape and murder of the junior doctor at the Kolkata facility was not a case of patient-doctor violence. Crimes and rapes are already covered under existing laws, they said.
They further said that 26 states and Union Territories including West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Assam, Karnataka and Kerala have passed legislations to protect healthcare personnel. In all these states these offences are cognisable and non-bailable.
“Hospitals being public facilities cannot be turned into a fortress. We have urged the doctors to call off their strike because patient care is getting affected,” an official source said.
However, doctors across the country have been demanding quick enactment of a special law to deal with violence against healthcare personnel and implementation of improved safety protocols within medical facilities to ensure a secure working environment for all medics.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has also sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “benign” intervention in realising their demands that includes a central law to check violence against healthcare personnel and declaring hospitals safe zones, like airports, with mandatory security entitlements.
