New Delhi: Center Will Form Panel to Recommend Safety Measures for Medical Personnel
As services were disrupted in the states following a statewide strike called by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) in protest of the violent rape and murder of a 31-year-old PG trainee in Kolkata, the Union Health Ministry assured medics on Saturday that every effort would be made to ensure their safety.
Following the incident against a resident doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, representatives of the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), Indian Medical Association (IMA), and Resident Doctors’ Associations of Governmental Medical Colleges and Hospitals of Delhi met with government officials at the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The Ministry assured the associations that a committee would be formed to recommend any and all possible actions to guarantee the safety of healthcare personnel.
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It stated that the panel would be invited to hear recommendations from representatives of all interested parties, including state governments.
Concerned about the security and safety of healthcare personnel at work, the various Associations put forth their demands.
The Ministry said it had heard the representatives’ demands and assured them of all possible efforts to ensure the security of healthcare professionals.
“The representatives of all the associations were informed that the government is well aware of the situation and is sensitive to their demands,” it added.
It was noted that 26 states have already enacted laws protecting healthcare professionals within their borders.
The Ministry asked the restless doctors to return to work because dengue and malaria were rising.
In protest of the RG Kar horrific incident, the IMA had called for a 24-hour worldwide shutdown of medical services, beginning at 6 a.m. on Saturday and ending at 6 a.m. on Sunday.
The IMA has also called for the passage of the Central Act (Central Protection Act for Doctors) to shield medical personnel from violence in the workplace.
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–IANS
