New Delhi: In response to protests by resident physicians calling for a central legislation in the wake of the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a Kolkata hospital, the Health Ministry has authorized a 25% increase in security deployment at all union government hospitals, an official said.
On Sunday, doctors’ strike in Delhi over the Kolkata incident completed a week
According to officials, government hospitals will be able to request the deployment of marshals in addition to following traditional security procedures, once they have completed their security assessments.
According to official sources, bringing a central law based on the RG Kar case “will not make any huge difference” because the junior doctor at the Kolkata institution was not the victim of patient-doctor violence.
They stated that current laws already include crimes and rapes.
They added that laws protecting healthcare workers have been passed in 26 states and Union Territories, including West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Assam, Karnataka, and Kerala. These offenses are cognizable and not subject to bail in each of these states.
“So, bringing in an ordinance or even a Central law, that too based on the RG Kar case which was not a patient-doctor violence incident, will not make any huge difference,” a government source stated.
Furthermore, a committee headed by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) will be established to examine a number of security and resident-focused issues at hospitals, including duty rooms, working hours and conditions, and cafeteria services.
“Since hospitals are public spaces, they cannot be transformed into fortress. Because patient care is being impacted, we have urged the doctors to end their strike,” an official source stated.
On Sunday, doctors’ strike in Delhi over the Kolkata incident completed a week, posing challenges for patients.
Physicians throughout the nation have been calling for the speedy adoption of a specific law to address violence against medical staff as well as the installation of enhanced safety measures in healthcare institutions.