Night patrolling on hospital premises and regulating access for people to key areas are among the measures the Centre has asked states to implement to ensure the safety of medics at workplaces, following Supreme Court orders in the rape-murder case of a junior doctor in Kolkata.The incident at the West Bengal government-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital earlier this month triggered nationwide protests by residents doctors to press for a central law for the security of health professionals at their workplaces and justice for their peer.
In a letter to chief secretaries and director generals of police on August 23, Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra drew their attention to the issue of incidents of violence in medical institutions and the recent protests following the Kolkata incident.
Taking suo-motu cognisance of the incident, the Supreme Court delivered orders on August 20 and 22, he said.
In its August 22 order, the court inter-alia directed that “the Secretary in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare shall engage with the Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police so as to ensure that the State Governments/UTs put into place certain basic minimum requirements pending the receipt of the report of the NTF to assuage the concerns of the doctors over their safety at their workplaces”.
The Supreme Court-appointed National Task Force (NTF) will formulate a protocol for ensuring the safety and security of doctors and other healthcare professionals.