NEW DELHI: The Centre has written to states and union territories to provide an action-taken report of the immediate and short-term measures taken to provide safety and security to doctors and healthcare workers by September 10.
The Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra in his letter to all the states' chief secretaries and DGPs suggested 11 safety and security measures to safeguard doctors and healthcare workers.
These measures include identifying high-risk establishments, focusing on high-risk areas, installing CCTVs, integrating with local police and employing ex-servicemen in high-risk areas of the hospitals.
The secretary also suggested that security committees should be constituted, security audits be conducted, hiring of patient facilitators, trained manpower at help desks and for guiding patients to navigate the hospital systems, processes and proper training and establishment of bereavement protocols for all doctors and healthcare workers to handle intense and emotional grief situations.
The letter, dated September 3, to the states came following the order of the Supreme Court on August 22 in which it had directed the centre to hold a meeting with secretaries and Director General of Police (DGPs) to ensure that the states put into place certain basic minimum requirements pending the receipt of the report of the National Task Force (NTF) to assuage the concerns of the doctors over their safety at workplace. The NTF, which met twice last week, was also constituted following the order of the SC.
The apex court directions came following a 10-day long indefinite nationwide strike by resident and junior doctors protesting the brutal rape and murder of a woman trainee doctor in a state-run Kolkata hospital on August 9.
The health ministry had earlier written to the states on August 23. In a meeting on August 28, the centre directed the states and UTs to take these 11 immediate measures.
In the meeting, states were informed that some of the measures have already been initiated as per the centre’s direction.
In the letter, Chandra said, “it is also heartening to note that some of the states have initiated additional measures over and above those suggested by the ministry.”
“In this regard, all the states/UTs are requested to provide an action taken report of the immediate/short term remedial measures already initiated as well as appropriate action taken before September 10,” the letter said.