The Supreme Court-appointed National Task Force to formulate a protocol for the safety and security of healthcare professionals met for the first time on Tuesday and decided to hold wider consultations with stakeholders on the issue.

The 10-member National Task Force (NTF) was constituted after the apex court last week took suo motu cognisance of the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata which sparked nationwide protests.

A national portal has been created by the Health Ministry under the title 'Suggestions to NTF' for seeking suggestions from individuals and different stakeholders across the country. The link is available on the website of the ministry (www. mohfw.gov.in) and is operational as of today, the Union Health Ministry officials said.

The suggestions of major stakeholders and those received on the portal will be collated by ministry for further consideration of the NTF members.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of the cabinet secretary. All members, including the home secretary and the health secretary, were present at the meeting.

There was elaborate and detailed discussion on various issues by the NTF members. The members also put forth their suggestions, the officials said.

The members informed that they have been approached directly by various stakeholders and have individually received almost 300 to 400 suggestions.

"Secretary (Health) along with NTF members will have wider consultations with various major stakeholders," the officials said.

The states have also been requested to provide information on the security measures available in the medical institutions. A Google sheet has been shared with the states for this purpose, the officials said.

A meeting will be held on wednesday through video conference to discuss short term measures regarding the security of medical professionals with state chief secretaries and DGPs. It will be co-chaired by the Union home secretary and Union health secretary.

"It was decided that the NTF will interact further with stakeholders such as the IMA and resident doctors associations concerned because it is important to know their viewpoints and hear them out besides reading the representations.

"We have already deliberated on some of the inputs but we would expand those and hold deliberations further to make it more inclusive and comprehensive so as to have clarity on the issues that need prioritisation as well as implementation map and definite framework," a source said.

The Health Ministry last Wednesday had issued an office memorandum mentioning the terms of reference for the NTF according to which it shall formulate effective recommendations to remedy the issues of concern pertaining to safety, working conditions and well-being of medical professionals and other related matters.

The apex court had asked the NTF to formulate an action plan under two sub-heads -- 'Preventing violence, including gender-based violence, against medical professionals and providing safe working conditions', and 'Prevention of sexual violence against medical professionals'.

Under the 'prevention of violence against medical professionals and providing safe working conditions' to ensure due security in medical establishments, there has to be training of departments and places within the hospital based on the degree of volatility and the possibility of violence, according to the terms of reference.

Areas such as the emergency rooms and the intensive care units are prone to a greater degree of violence and may possibly need additional security in place to deal with any untoward incident, it said.

The NTF will look into putting in place a baggage and person screening system at every entrance of a hospital to ensure that arms are not carried inside the medical establishment and also to prevent intoxicated persons from entering the premises of the medical establishment, unless they are patients, the memorandum said.

As far as infrastructural development is concerned, there should be a provision of separate resting rooms and duty rooms in each department for male and female doctors, and male and female nurses; and a gender-neutral common resting space, it said.

The rooms must be well-ventilated, have sufficient bed spaces and provide a facility for drinking water. Access to these rooms must be restricted through installation of security devices, the document said.

Besides, the NTF would also focus on adopting appropriate technological intervention to regulate access to critical and sensitive areas, including through the use of biometric and facial recognition, it said.

The terms of reference include ensuring adequate lighting at all places in a hospital and, if it is attached to a medical college, all places within the campus. It also includes installation of CCTV cameras at all the entrance and exit points of the hospital, and the corridors leading up to all patient rooms.

If the hostels or rooms of the medical professionals are away from the hospital, there should be a provision of transport between 10 pm to 6 am to those who wish to travel to or from their place of stay to the hospital, the memorandum stated.

There should be employment of social workers trained in grief and crisis counselling at all medical establishments, it added.

Under the other sub-head for the prevention of sexual violence against medical professionals, the document underlined that the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 applies to hospitals and nursing homes (including private health providers).

In terms of the provisions of the Act, an Internal Complaints Committee must be constituted in all hospitals and nursing homes, the document stated.

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