Health Ministry To Form Panel To Suggest Measures For Ensuring Safety Of Healthcare Professionals

The Health Ministry while giving the assurance of forming a committee to look into the safety issue of the health care professionals has urged the agitating doctors to resume their duties in the larger public interest and because of the rising cases of Dengue and Malaria.

New Delhi:Days after the horrific rape and murder of a postgraduate medical student in Kolakata, the Health Ministry on Saturday said that it will soon form a committee to suggest measures for ensuring the safety of healthcare professionals. The assurance was given by the ministry to a delegation of the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Resident Doctors’ Associations of Governmental Medical Colleges & Hospitals of Delhi, who met the Health Ministry officials in New Delhi.

The ministry assured them of constituting a committee to suggest all such possible measures for ensuring the safety of healthcare professionals. Representatives of all stakeholders, including the State Governments, will be invited to share their suggestions with the committee.

The representatives of FORDA, IMA and RDA met the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in New Delhi in the aftermath of the incident against a resident doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata.

The associations have put forth their demands regarding their concern over the safety and security of healthcare workers at the workplace. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has heard the demands of the representatives 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 was observed that 26 States have already passed legislation for the protection of healthcare workers in their respective states. The ministry requested the agitating doctors to resume their duties in the larger public interest and given the rising cases of Dengue and Malaria.

Ever since the horrific rape and murder incident took place on August 9, students and doctors from different medical colleges across the country came to the streets demanding a stringent law for the safety of the doctors at the workplace. On Saturday, doctors from different hospitals in New Delhi staged an agitation demanding stringent punishment for the accused of the Kolkata incident.

The agitating doctors, however, demanded a Central Protection Act (CPA). "The government has given assurance to form a committee to look into our concerns. But, there was no mention of a Central Protection At in the assurance," said an agitating doctor.