New Delhi: The Supreme Court-appointed panel tasked to formulate protocols to improve the safety of healthcare workers met for the first time on Tuesday and decided to widen consultations through meetings with states and suggestions from individuals and stakeholders.
The Union health ministry had constituted the 14-member National Task Force (NTF) last week, under directions from the Supreme Court during hearings on the incident of the rape and murder of the junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta that has triggered nationwide protests.
The NTF members have collectively received 300 to 400 suggestions, the health ministry said on Tuesday after the panel’s meeting. The ministry has set up a digital portal on its website to enable individuals and stakeholders to submit their suggestions.
The NTF has asked states to provide information on security measures currently available in medical institutions and will hold a videoconference meeting on Wednesday with state chief secretaries and police officers.
Resident doctors in medical colleges across the country, the Indian Medical Association, the country’s largest body of doctors, and physicians from corporate hospitals have, since the Calcutta incident, repeated their calls on the Centre to introduce new legislation to curb violence against healthcare workers.
The doctors’ groups have argued that existing state laws are not strong enough to deter violence and demanded a central legislation making violence against healthcare workers a non-bailable offence.
