Doctors' strike resurrects demand of protection law

At least two associations of doctors have resurrected a four-year-old demand of having a stringent central law to deal with violence against doctors in the backdrop of the recent mob attack on junior doctors at NRS Medical College in Kolkata.

The Indian Medical Association on Friday asked for a national law against hospital violence, whereas the Alliance of Doctors for Ethical Healthcare too sought legislation to prevent violence against healthcare professionals.

The associations received support from the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, who also tweeted in support of a law to protect the doctors.

“Heinous repeated attacks on doctors across India, especially in West Bengal, have led to this situation. The government must pass a law to make any attack on doctors a non-bailable offence with a minimum of 12 years in jail. The draconian Clinical Establishment Act that treats doctors as criminals must be withdrawn,” tweeted Vardhan.

The Union Health Minister, who met a delegation of doctors, said he would take up the issue of providing a safe work atmosphere at hospital with the Union Home Ministry.

The demand of a central legislation to protect the doctors, however, is not a new one.

The IMA raised it for the first time in 2015 following a series of attacks on doctors by the family members of patients.

Then Union Health Minister J P Nadda formed an inter-ministerial committee with senior officials from Health, Home, Law and Consumer Affairs ministries to look into the IMA demand. The recommendations of the committee were never made public.

“IMA has declared a zero-tolerance policy against violence on doctors and healthcare establishments. National law against violence on hospitals has to be brought in urgently. The law should provide a minimum of seven years of imprisonment for hospital violence,” said India's largest body of doctors.

As many as 19 States and Union Territories had enacted such a law, but they were not put to use as such state laws are not part of the Indian Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code, R V Asokan, IMA Secretary General told DH.

“For 10 years Maharashtra has a legislation to protect the doctors. But nobody has ever been convicted under that law because of its poor implementation. No one takes the law seriously, which remains only on paper,” Arun Gadre, a Pune-based gynaecologist and one of the members of the ADEH told DH.

Meanwhile, IMA demands provisions in the line of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to ensure registering of cases, arrest of the culprits and their convictions. “Hospitals should be declared as safe zones and provision of appropriate security should be the responsibility of the state,” says the IMA statement.