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Centre will ensure safety of medical staff, Union Health Minister tells IMA
West Bengal government tried to hush up the “horrifying” rape and murder of doctor, he says
Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda
| Photo Credit: PTI
Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda assured doctors that the Centre would bring in strict measures to ensure their safety at workplace.
During a meeting with a delegation from the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Tuesday (August 13), the Minister alleged that the West Bengal government “had tried to hush up the rape and murder of the postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata’’.
Terming the incident horrifying, the Minister said the safety of women was becoming a matter of grave concern in the State despite having a woman Chief Minister. He also welcomed the decision of the High Court for a CBI inquiry.
The IMA delegation, led by its president R.V. Asokan, sought a safe workplace for doctors across the country. He demanded police pickets in all major government hospitals as well as a Central law to tackle the attacks on doctors.
NMC directive
On Tuesday, the National Medical Commission (NMC) directed all medical colleges to develop a policy to ensure a safe work environment within the college and hospital campus for all the staff members.
“The policy should ensure adequate safety measures at OPD, wards, casualty, hostels and other open areas on the campus and residential quarters. Corridors and campus should be well-lit in the evening for staff to walk safely from one place to other, and all sensitive areas should be covered by CCTV for monitoring. Adequate security measures, including posting of adequate security staff (male and female), should be made available at the OPD, wards etc,’’ the notice said.
It also said that any incident of violence against the medical students should be promptly investigated by the college management and a complaint lodged with the police. “A detailed action taken report on any incident of violence should invariably be sent to the NMC within 48 hours of the incident,’’ it said.
Seeks Central law
The IMA also demanded that the government reintroduce the draft legislation, the Healthcare Service Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of Violence and Damage to Property) Bill, 2019, incorporating the amendments in the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897, approved and passed by Parliament as the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Act, 2020.
Speaking to The Hindu, Dr. Asokan said: “Our main demand is the declaration of all hospitals as safe zones. Safe zones should be entitled to a certain amount of security that must be defined by law. The second demand is about the Central law that we have been demanding for quite some years now. There are 25 State laws but practically no conviction of the culprits. Not only this crime, there has been a lot of violence across the country against doctors. So, a Central law is a prerequisite of our demand at this stage.’’
He added that all major government hospitals should have police camps and adequate security personnel.
The IMA demanded that the West Bengal government hold an impartial and thorough investigation into the case, punish the culprits, and bring in urgent steps to improve the safety of doctors, especially women, in the workplace.
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