New Delhi. After the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in a Kolkata hospital, the Union Health Ministry has written a letter to all central government hospitals, medical institutions and all AIIMS chiefs ordering them to make elaborate security arrangements. The letter states that special security arrangements should be made for health workers in the hospital premises. Adequate number of high-resolution CCTV cameras should be installed at the hospital’s entry, exit, gallery and dark and sensitive areas.
A control room should be set up in the institute for quick response in case of emergency. The control room should always be manned with an administrative staff and security personnel. Sufficient number of trained security guards should be employed for proper monitoring and patrolling of the premises.
The Health Ministry order also states that entry and exit to the hospital should be strictly monitored so that only authorized persons are allowed entry. Apart from this, identity cards can be issued for staff, patients and visitors so that authorized persons can be easily identified. It should be made mandatory for all hospital staff to show identity cards while on duty. Appropriate arrangements should be made to ensure that all visitors can be monitored.
Amid protests by resident doctors demanding a central law, the Health Ministry has allowed a 25 per cent increase in security deployment in all central government hospitals. Officials said that apart from the standard security protocols, deployment of marshals will also be approved based on the demand of government hospitals after security review.
However, official sources said that bringing in a central law based on the R.G. Kar Hospital case “won’t make a big difference” as the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the Kolkata hospital was not a case of patient-doctor violence. They said that cases of crime and rape are already covered under existing laws.
Sources said that 26 states and union territories, including West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Assam, Karnataka and Kerala, have passed laws to protect health workers. In all these states, these crimes are cognizable and non-bailable. He said that meetings have been held with some resident doctor associations and they have also been explained about these aspects.
Sources said a committee will be set up under the chairmanship of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to look into various aspects of safety and facilities for resident doctors in hospitals, such as duty rooms, working hours and conditions, and canteen services. “Hospitals are public facilities, so they cannot be turned into fortresses. We have urged the doctors to end the strike as patients are facing difficulties,” an official source said.
Tags: aiims delhi, AIIMS Rishikesh
FIRST PUBLISHED : August 19, 2024, 23:32 IST
