The Centre requested on Friday that, in the event of any violence against a healthcare worker who is on duty, the heads of all government hospitals in the nation file an institutional FIR within six hours. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare released the memo in the midst of doctor protests across the country in response to the rape and killing of a 31-year-old junior doctor at the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
The Union Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said in the memorandum: “In the event of any violence against any healthcare worker while on duty, the Head of Institution shall be responsible for filing an Institutional FIR within a maximum of 6 hours of the incident… Recently, it has been observed that violence has become common against doctors and other healthcare staff in government hospitals. Many health workers suffer physical violence during the course of their duty. Many are threatened or exposed to verbal aggression. Most of this violence is done by either the patient or the patient’s attendants.”
Due to the fact that, even with an established system, many incidents go unreported, resident doctors have long demanded this. If the original complainant, who is typically a resident doctor, moves to another hospital after completing their education or tenure, it is essential that an institutional formal complaint be filed in order to guarantee that the investigations and cases can go forward.
To prevent violence against medical staff who are on duty, the doctors have also been advocating for the approval of the Central Protection Act. The draft, created in 2019 in response to a similar outrage following the attack on a doctor in Kolkata, suggested that acts of violence against doctors while they were on duty might result in up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh.
In the midst of the pandemic, the Centre also issued an Ordinance amending the Epidemic Diseases Act, which made violence against medical staff a crime that could result in up to seven years in prison and a fine of Rs 5 lakh. This Ordinance was not subject to bail.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has insisted that hospital security procedures equal those in airports. A thorough and timely investigation is required, as is "dignified compensation to the bereaved family commensurate with the cruelty inflicted."
The National Medical Commission, the highest authority on medical education, stated earlier this week that in the event of violence, the college administration should launch an immediate investigation, file a police report, and provide a report on the actions taken to the NMC within 24 hours. Prior to this, the DGHS had declared that all central government hospitals needed to keep a record of these kinds of incidences and notify the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of them.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Priyanka Pandey)
