Hyderabad: The National Task Force (NTF) set up by the Supreme Court in the aftermath of the alleged rape and murder of a junior doctor at the R G Kar Hospital in Kolkata in Aug, has failed to understand and represent the real situation of doctors on the ground, said Dr RV Asokan, national president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), on Sunday.He also accused the NTF of failing to provide a sense of security to doctors and said that the IMA will raise this issue during the next SC hearing.
In Hyderabad to discuss the ‘Bengaluru Declaration — Bridging the Gaps – Enhancing Collaboration Between Doctors and Patients in India to Ensure Unshakeable Trust in the Doctor-Patient Relationship’ with IMA Hyderabad members, Dr Asokan said how no number of CCTVs or additional police posts can provide practitioners with the sense of security that a central law could have managed to give.
Incidentally, in its recommendations submitted recently, the NTF has stated that there is no need to enact a separate central law for protection of healthcare workers. “The NTF failed us… disappointed us. Despite being given the liberty to suggest measures to improve doctors’ safety, it failed to represent our views and difficulties and provide solutions to our problems,” Dr Asokan told TOI.
Referring to a recent incident where a doctor in Chennai was stabbed by a patient’s son, he said, “The NTF points out that states have enough laws to keep healthcare professionals safe. But the reality is no one knows them. Even in the recent incident, police did not book a case under the Tamil Nadu Hospital Protection Act. The same is the case with several incidents that occurred across India earlier. This is the reason why we need a special central law with implementable clauses. It is the only way to guarantee doctors across the country that they will be protected,” he added.
‘Govt reluctant to bring special law’
Dr Asokan stated that the govt is reluctant to bring in a special law as doing so would mean that it has indirectly acknowledged the safety of doctors is in an abysmal state. “But the fact is by not acknowledging the problem, we are doing more harm. The truth is we are in crisis. We need deterrent laws to stop violence against healthcare workers. The govt cannot continue to be in denial,” said the IMA chief, adding that the association will continue to fight and aim to achieve central law.
He mentioned that when the IMA staged a nationwide protest in Aug this year, the SC asked them to trust the judicial system and return to work. “There is no need for us to stage nationwide protests again. We have already made our point in Aug. We still have hope that the Supreme Court will address our concerns,” he said.
In Hyderabad to discuss the ‘Bengaluru Declaration — Bridging the Gaps – Enhancing Collaboration Between Doctors and Patients in India to Ensure Unshakeable Trust in the Doctor-Patient Relationship’ with IMA Hyderabad members, Dr Asokan said how no number of CCTVs or additional police posts can provide practitioners with the sense of security that a central law could have managed to give.
Incidentally, in its recommendations submitted recently, the NTF has stated that there is no need to enact a separate central law for protection of healthcare workers. “The NTF failed us… disappointed us. Despite being given the liberty to suggest measures to improve doctors’ safety, it failed to represent our views and difficulties and provide solutions to our problems,” Dr Asokan told TOI.
Referring to a recent incident where a doctor in Chennai was stabbed by a patient’s son, he said, “The NTF points out that states have enough laws to keep healthcare professionals safe. But the reality is no one knows them. Even in the recent incident, police did not book a case under the Tamil Nadu Hospital Protection Act. The same is the case with several incidents that occurred across India earlier. This is the reason why we need a special central law with implementable clauses. It is the only way to guarantee doctors across the country that they will be protected,” he added.
‘Govt reluctant to bring special law’
Dr Asokan stated that the govt is reluctant to bring in a special law as doing so would mean that it has indirectly acknowledged the safety of doctors is in an abysmal state. “But the fact is by not acknowledging the problem, we are doing more harm. The truth is we are in crisis. We need deterrent laws to stop violence against healthcare workers. The govt cannot continue to be in denial,” said the IMA chief, adding that the association will continue to fight and aim to achieve central law.
He mentioned that when the IMA staged a nationwide protest in Aug this year, the SC asked them to trust the judicial system and return to work. “There is no need for us to stage nationwide protests again. We have already made our point in Aug. We still have hope that the Supreme Court will address our concerns,” he said.
