Kolkata doctor rape-murder: Police can't shed responsibility, says OMAG

Mumbai: Amid the rape-murder of a trainee resident doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital premises in Kolkata, a doctors’ body, Organised Medicine Academic Guild (OMAG) said that the police cannot shed its responsibility.

“Safety and security of doctors and health care workers is prime, which is often at a toss in public hospitals. Police Department has to take the onus as the volunteer-cum- contractual employees belong to them. It was their duty to do a proper intelligence check of their people…full time in regular service or contractual,” said Dr Ishwar Gilada, the Secretary General of Organised Medicine Academic Guild (OMAG), an umbrella organisation of 15 medical associations of post graduate doctors, representing 2,50,000 doctors in India.

“Contractual staff is a widespread strategy to save establishment costs. Their police verification is never done, as is a case with regular employees in government establishments,” he said.

According to Dr Gilada, there is no proper place for doctors to rest. “There is a pathetic state of safety/security in public hospitals. Most places lack CCTV surveillance, and if they are installed, most are out-of-order due to lack of maintenance,” he said.

Dr Gilada said that there should be training in self defence for doctors and health-care workers. “There should be immediate action after the incident. There should be fast-track trials,” he said.