THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the wake of the rise in attacks against doctors and healthcare institutions, doctors have demanded the intervention of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to address the issue. In a letter to the chief minister, doctors under the aegis of Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) urged him to make hospitals safe and book violators under the Hospital Protection Act (The Kerala Health Service Persons and Healthcare Services Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act 2012).
“Infrastructure facilities of healthcare institutions should be improved to enhance security. Cameras should be installed and adequate security staff should be deployed in all healthcare institutions,” said a joint statement by KGMOA president G S Vijayakrishnan and general secretary T N Suresh.
According to them, the delay in arresting the culprits and hesitancy in slapping charges under Hospital Protection Act have led to the recurrence of such incidents. The police must be directed to prepare FIR at least within 24 hours and any failure in this regard has to be viewed seriously, said the statement.
The KGMOA found that the culprits of hospital attack cases filed fake counter cases against the doctors involved to negotiate with them. So they demanded any work-related complaint against a doctor should be brought before an expert panel before filing an FIR as being done in cases of medical negligence as per SC guidelines.