KOLKATA: Forensic Nursing is a new concept, introduced in the area of medicine, establishing the fact that nurses are the first line of investigation of a criminal incident, said Justice (Retd.) Kamal Sarkar.
Judges also need to have forensic knowledge for the sake of justice, he added.
He was inaugurating a two-day workshop on forensic nursing, on the theme “Leading the way: Forensic Nursing in Healthcare Settings”, at the Priyamvada Birla Institute of Nursing at its Rajarhat complex on July 17. Eminent forensic medicine and toxicology experts and forensic scientists participated in the workshop.
Pradip Tondon, CEO, Belle Vue Clinic, said: “Leadership in healthcare is not just about technology or infrastructure-it is about courage, compassion and advocacy.” Rina Das, Associate Professor, department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, RG Kar Medical College & Hospital, said the application of scientific principles to investigate crime was forensic science while forensic nurses maintained rigorous, legally defensible protocols for evidence collection and documentation.
Babul Bandyopadhyay, Forensic Scientist and Forensic Course Coordinator, Forensic Science Laboratory, Belgachhia, Govt, of West Bengal, said forensic nursing could be exclusively included in therapeutic as well as preventive aspects of medico-legal cases, by bridging the gap between the healthcare and legal system in exact and effective ways. Saurabh Chattopadhyay, Professor and Head, department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, NRS Medical College, Kolkata, emphasised that forensic nurses were the changing face of the medical profession.
Prof. Dipa Sarkar Dey, Principal, Priyamvada Birla Institute of Nursing, explained that the key responsibilities of forensic nursing included documentation of injuries, forensic photography, specimen collection and courtroom testimony.
Over 100 nursing students from Apollo College of Nursing, Peerless Institute of Nursing & Techno India University and other nursing institutions attended the workshop.