The Supreme Court on Tuesday constituted a National Task Force to work out the modalities of safety measures for medical professionals. The NTF will recommend security measures on hospital premises; infrastructure development, including separate restrooms; technological interventions to limit access to critical hospital areas; CCTV cameras; provision of night transport; counselling services; crisis workshops; quarterly safety audits; and enhanced police presence in hospitals. A three-judge Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, explaining why the court had taken suo motu cognisance of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the State-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9, said the case laid bare the systemic failure in providing safety to medical professionals. In its 16-page order, the court said the “horrific” crime was the last straw and “the nation cannot wait for another rape and murder in order to bring in safety laws for medical professionals and doctors”. The Centre has been given a month to collate data from States and Union Territories on security and infrastructure facilities at all government-run hospitals. This would include whether they have complied with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. The members of the NTF include Surgeon Vice-Admiral Arti Sarin, Director General Medical Services (Navy), D. Nageshwar Reddy, Chairperson and Managing Director, Asian Institute of Gastroenterology and AIG Hospitals, Hyderabad, M. Srinivas, Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, Pratima Murthy, Director, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, and others. “There is a virtual absence of safety for doctors, especially young women doctors. They have 36-hour shifts. There are no separate duty rooms for male and women doctors and personnel. We need a national protocol for safe conditions of work for doctors and medical personnel… It is not that every time there is a rape and murder, the conscience of the nation is awakened. We need a protocol not just on paper, but to be actually implemented,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said.
The Chief Justice reached out to the protesting doctors and medical staff to resume work, saying their concerns would be given the highest priority by the Supreme Court. Despite orders by the Union Health Ministry directing its institutes to put in place additional measures to provide security to healthcare employees at workplace, resident doctors from several parts of the country on Tuesday maintained that they will continue with suspension of services from all elective areas including OPD, elective OT, ward services and lab services on Wednesday. “Emergency services will remain operational throughout this period to ensure the continued care and safety of patients,” said resident doctors’ groups. The top court warned the West Bengal government against “unleashing” its might on protestors. The Bench directed the CBI, which is currently in charge of the investigation into the crime on the orders of the Calcutta High Court, to submit its report on August 22. The Supreme Court said States, including West Bengal, have stringent laws to protect medical professionals from violence, but punishment alone does not deter crime when safety standards in hospitals are chronically low. “The enactments do not address the institutional and systemic causes that underlie the problem. An enhanced punishment without improving institutional safety standards falls short of addressing the problem effectively,” noted the Bench, also comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. The Kolkata Police has booked Sandip Kumar Ghosh, former principal of the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, for alleged involvement in corruption and financial irregularities at the State-run hospital.
The West Bengal government had earlier set up a four-member special investigation team to probe allegations of financial irregularities at the hospital since 2021 when Dr. Ghosh was in charge. The police summoned the former principal for disclosing the identity of the victim. Dr. Ghosh was the principal of the hospital when the incident took place. He resigned later but was reinstated within hours at another hospital. The Supreme Court raised questions on the role of Dr. Ghosh, who has been sent on leave by the Calcutta High Court, and questioned by the CBI for four days. An advisory issued by the Union government for its health institutes notes that women health professionals should preferably not be deployed for night duty alone. A similar dictum by the West Bengal government to “avoid” putting women on night duty has been called regressive by women rights activists. In an editorial, The Hindu noted that instead of removing women from night shifts, thus impacting women labour participation rates further, all steps must be taken to make the workplace a safer place.
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