The Indian Medical Association (IMA) appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday to come up with a central law to check violence against healthcare personnel and declare hospitals as safe zones with mandatory security entitlements. The demand was made by the apex doctors' body following the alleged rape and murder of a medic at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata and the subsequent vandalism of the area where the incident occurred.
While observing a 24-hour nationwide withdrawal of non-emergency services from 6 am on Saturday and providing only emergency and causality services, IMA wrote to PM Modi, coming up with its five demands.
The IMA listed the following demands in the letter to Prime Minister Modi:
- A Central Act incorporating the amendments of 2020 in the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897 into the draft "The Healthcare Services Personnel and Clinical Establishments
(Prohibition of Violence and Damage to Property Bill 2019)" would strengthen the existing 25 state legislations. - The security protocols of all hospitals should be no less than an airport. Declaring the hospitals as safe zones with mandatory security entitlements is the first step. CCTVS, deployment of security personnel, and the protocols can follow.
- The 36 hours of duty 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 the resident doctors.
- Meticulous and professional investigation of the crime in a timeframe and rendering of justice.
- Appropriate and dignified compensation to the bereaved family commensurate with the cruelty inflicted.
'We Appeal To You For Your Benign Intervention': IMA To PM Modi
The IMA also mentioned in its letter that especially women Doctors are vulnerable to violence because of the nature of the profession. It is under the authorities' discretion to provide safety to doctors inside hospitals and on campuses.
"The RG Kar incident has brought to the fore the two dimensions of violence in the hospital: A crime of barbaric scale due to the lack of safe spaces for women and the hooliganism that is unleashed due to lack of an organised security protocol. The crime and the vandalism have shocked the conscience of the nation," it said.
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The organisation also praised the prime minister for addressing the safety of women in his Independence Day speech. "We appeal to you for your benign intervention at this stage. This will give confidence to not only women doctors but also to every woman in workplace," the doctors' association stated.
The IMA highlighted that 60 per cent of doctors in India are women, with even higher percentages in fields like dentistry (68 per cent), physiotherapy (75 per cent), and nursing (85 per cent). It emphasised that all healthcare professionals deserve a peaceful and secure working environment. "We are appealing for your benign intervention to ensure appropriate measures to meet our demands," the IMA requested.
Govt Assures Committee For Doctors' Safety
This comes after the Union Health Ministry on Saturday stated that a committee will be set up to propose measures to ensure the safety of healthcare professionals. Representatives from all relevant stakeholders, including state governments, will be invited to contribute their suggestions to the committee.
"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," a release informed.
After the Kolkata rape and murder case as well as subsequent protests, representatives from the Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA), the Indian Medical Association (IMA), and resident doctors' associations from government medical colleges and hospitals in Delhi met with the Union health minister. The associations presented their demands for improved safety and security of healthcare workers in their workplaces.