The IMA wrote to the National Task Force (NTF), that has been tasked with developing protocols to ensure the safety and security of healthcare personnel, again requesting a national law prohibiting violence against physicians and hospitals and identifying hospitals as safe zones.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) submitted its letter in three sections, stating that the Supreme Court established the NTF to develop a national consensus and adopt procedures with due engagement of all stakeholders. The NTF was established by the Supreme Court in response to protests by doctors and healthcare professionals over the recent rape and murder of a trainee female doctor at the government-owned RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
To begin, the IMA submitted its study “Safety During Night Duty: Survey of 3885 Doctors Across India,” a draft proposal for a central act, draft legislation – “The Healthcare Service Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of violence and damage to property) Bill, 2019,” and the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Act September 2020, among other annexures.
The IMA justified the call for a central act in its letter by stating that healthcare facilities vary in terms of infrastructure and human resources. The letter stated, “The only preventive strategy that could be applied across the board and across all the states is deterrent central law in statute. Absence of such law has resulted in half-hearted actions by the police and less that optimum investigations and prosecution of the incidence. We the medical profession of India expect the National Task Force to live up to our expectations and instill confidence into the minds of the demoralised doctor community.”