The indefinite strike by resident doctors protesting the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at a Kolkata hospital continued even as the Supreme Court appealed to the protesters to resume their duties. The patient services at Delhi hospitals are being deeply hit by this protest.
The Supreme Court, taking suo motu cognisance of the case, constituted a 10-member National Task Force to formulate a protocol to secure doctors and healthcare professionals last Tuesday.
The NTF will be chaired by Vice Admiral Arti Sarin and is mandated to submit an interim report within a period of three weeks. However, the composition of the task force has raised some concerns for doctor associations.
"We do not understand the basis of selecting members for the task force. There should have been representation from resident doctors, which we were demanding from long. Also, there should have been representation from professors of government medical colleges as acts of violence are mostly seen in government hospitals, not in private ones," said an official of the doctors' organisation.
The Federation of All India Medical Association has responded in turn by filing a petition in the Supreme Court for granting interim protection to doctors until the recommendations made by the NTF come into effect. In the plea, it was articulated that doctors face constant threats and assaults, thus setting out an acute need for adequate protection measures.
"It is of utmost importance that there is adequate representation from resident doctors since they are experiencing real-time problems on a routine basis and may be in a position to offer a real-time solution to these problems. Involvement of resident doctors will ensure that comprehensive guidelines are formed after holistic discussion with all the stakeholders," the plea asserts. It also calls for the implementation of the Central Protection Act for doctor safety.
The petition has further sought the installation of CCTV cameras at all sensitive places, including entrances, exits, and corridors of hospitals and hostels. It has demanded that Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace, 2013, be adhered to in strict terms and creation of a 24-hour distress call facility for extending immediate help during emergencies to healthcare workers.
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