Conducting night patrols on hospital premises and regulating access for people to key areas were among the measures discussed in the Centre’s meeting with chief secretaries and directors general of police (DGPs) of all states on Wednesday.
The meeting, conducted via video conferencing, was co-chaired by the Union home and health secretaries to discuss measures needed to enhance security and provide a safer working environment for healthcare workers.
This comes a day after the ten-member National Task Force (NTF), appointed by the Supreme Court, met for the first time to formulate a protocol for the safety and security of healthcare professionals. The task force had decided to hold wider consultations with other stakeholders.
“The meeting was in pursuance of the Supreme Court’s order dated August 22, to ensure that certain basic minimum measures are put in place by the state and union territory (UT) governments pending receipt of the report of the NTF to address the concerns of the doctors over their safety at their workplaces,” an official source said.
At the meeting, the officers of state and UT administrations apprised the Centre about the steps taken by them to enhance security and provide a safer working environment for healthcare workers across public and private hospitals, medical colleges, and other healthcare institutions.
“These included the provision of chief security officers in hospitals and medical colleges, police verification of contractual and outsourced employees working in government hospitals, and joint security audits at government district hospitals and medical colleges by district magistrates, the superintendents of police, along with the dean or director of these institutions,” the source added.
The Centre further requested officers from state and UT administrations to ensure the installation of CCTV cameras in blind spots, the display of revamped positions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and integration with the ‘112’ helpline for healthcare workers in hospitals with high footfall.
The meeting also comes after Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra on August 23 had asked all states to come up with innovative ideas, laying emphasis on some immediate measures which can be considered to enhance security and provide a safer working environment for healthcare workers.
These measures included the constitution of committees on hospital security, violence prevention, and sexual harassment involving senior doctors and administrative officers, along with enacting provisions for the safe movement of resident doctors and nurses within hospital premises.
First Published: Aug 28 2024 | 6:21 PM IST
