Bengal Govt Issues Directions For Safety Of Healthcare Professionals After RG Kar Row

West Bengal has issued directives for healthcare worker safety including adequate facilities, CCTV, security personnel, a helpline number, panic buttons, bed availability information among others.

Junior doctors held protest for over 42 days over the rape and murder case at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Source : PTI

The West Bengal government on Thursday issued a list of directives to ensure the safety and security of the healthcare professionals in the state. The directives, which the state government has instructed to implement immediately for a conducive environment, come after more than a month-long protest over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata. 

The directives were issued by the state government a day after a meeting between the protesting junior doctors and the government. 

Among the 10 directives listed by Chief Secretary Manoj Pant in a communication to Principal Secretary (Health) NS Nigam, are need for "adequate availability of on-duty rooms, washrooms, CCTVs, drinking water facilities in the healthcare facilities".

The directives were issued hours after junior doctors submitted a draft to the CS listing key points of their meeting with the West Bengal government on Wednesday night and were awaiting the state's response, reported PTI. 

The directives mandate the health secretary that "all committees including the internal complaints committee should be made fully functional by the department".

It also instructed to ensure the deployment of an adequate number of police/security personnel along with female police/security personnel in every healthcare facility in consultation with the state Home Department. It should also be ensured that mobile teams are deployed by local police authorities for surveillance especially during night hours," one of the directives stated.

Additionally, the state government has instructed to set up a centralised helpline number to ensure the safety and security of healthcare personnel and a panic call button alarm system along with access control systems to be made operational in every healthcare facility as early as possible. 

The directives also require the health department to make a centrally monitored real-time bed availability information system operational in all government facilities. The department has also been asked to take "immediate steps" to fill up vacant posts of doctors, nurses, general duty assistants (GDAs) and technicians, besides operationalising a central referral system.