Govt urges protesting doctors to end strike, assures them of their security
New Delhi: As the agitating doctors continue their nationwide stir to protest against the rape and gruesome murder of a trainee doctor at the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata earlier this month, the Union Health Ministry on Saturday assured protesting doctors that a committee will be formed to suggest “all possible measures for ensuring the safety of healthcare professionals.”
Agitating doctors across the country have been on strike and demanding the legislation of a Central Act to ensure stringent punishment for people assaulting on-duty healthcare professionals. The Union Health Ministry said the committee will receive representation from all stakeholders, including professional bodies such as the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), the Indian Medical Association (IMA), and the state governments. The Ministry requested the agitating doctors to resume their duties in the larger public interest and in view of the rising cases of Dengue and Malaria.
Representatives of the FORDA, Indian Medical Association (IMA) and resident doctors’ associations of government medical colleges and hospitals of Delhi met the Union Health minister in the wake of the Kolkata incident. The associations have put forth their demands regarding the safety and security of healthcare workers at their workplaces, the ministry said in the statement. The ministry has heard the demands and assured the doctors’ associations of all possible efforts to ensure the security of healthcare professionals. The representatives of the associations were informed that the government is well aware of the situation and sensitive to their demands, the statement said.
It was also observed that 26 states have already passed laws for the protection of healthcare workers. “In view of the concerns expressed by the associations, the ministry assured them of constituting a committee to suggest all such possible measures for ensuring the safety of healthcare professionals. “Representatives of all stakeholders, including the state governments, will be invited to share their suggestions with the committee,” the statement said.
Reacting to the development, the IMA said it is studying the statement released by the health ministry assuring doctors of all possible efforts to ensure their safety and offering to form a committee to suggest measures for the same. The IMA said it will respond to it after careful consideration of all aspects and consultations with its state branches. “IMA recalls an Office Memorandum dated March 23, 2017 by the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare, GoI, co-signed by the ministry officials and IMA, assuring to explore the possibility to initiate the process to bring a central Act on the said issue in line with those in vogue in other states,” it said in a statement.
The IMA had given a call for 24-hour nationwide strike in protest against the rape and murder of the woman doctor at Kolkata’s hospital. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the case after it was transferred from the Kolkata Police by the Calcutta High Court on August 13.
IMA writes... backdrop of the alleged rape and murder of a medic at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata and the subsequent vandalism at the facility. The Indian Medical Association (IMA), which is observing a 24-hour nationwide withdrawal of non-emergency services from 6 am on Saturday, wrote to the prime minister, putting forward its five demands. All essential services are being maintained and casualty wards manned, the IMA said in a statement.
“The 36-hour shift that the victim was in and the lack of safe spaces to rest and adequate restrooms warrant thorough overhaul of the working and living conditions of resident doctors,” it added. It has also demanded that hospitals be declared as safe zones, with the first step being mandatory security entitlements.
“Security protocols at hospitals should be no less than at airports. Declaring hospitals as safe zones with mandatory security entitlements is the first step. CCTV cameras, deployment of security personnel and the protocols can follow,” the IMA said. It has demanded a central act incorporating the 2020 amendments in the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897 into the draft Healthcare Services Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of Violence and Damage to Property) Bill, 2019, saying it would strengthen the existing 25 state legislations. The doctors’ body also called for a meticulous and professional investigation of the crime in a specific timeframe and rendering of justice, besides identifying those involved in the vandalism and exemplary punishment for those involved. There was vandalism on August 15 by a large crowd, which destroyed various sections of the facility, including where the victim was found, the IMA mentioned. It also sought appropriate and dignified compensation to the bereaved family.
