The Union Health Ministry has urged the states to submit action-taken reports on the immediate and short-term security measures implemented in medical institutions for doctors and healthcare workers.

Referring to a virtual conference held on August 28, Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra, in a letter sent to the chief secretaries and directors general of police (DGPs) of all the states and Union territories on Tuesday, highlighted the key security measures discussed at the meeting and requested them to submit the action-taken reports before September 10.

The key points highlighted at the meeting included the identification of high-risk establishments as part of which each territory or district has to identify the hospitals with high footfall and consider those as high-priority establishments for security improvements.

Besides, the Centre has laid stress on conducting security audits in consultation with local health and police authorities to assess and improve security measures and giving special attention to areas with a higher incidence of security breaches, such as emergency rooms, triage areas, intensive care units (ICUs) and labour rooms.

At the meeting, Chandra also urged the states to ensure the installation and proper functioning of CCTV cameras, particularly in high-risk areas, and regular monitoring of those from a manned central control room.

Establishment of a protocol for quick sharing of the video footage of any untoward incident against healthcare workers with local police to facilitate a swift response and investigation, and technically orienting and training security personnel in soft skills, besides employing ex-servicemen (Directorate General Resettlement) as security personnel in the identified high-risk areas of the hospitals were also discussed.

The states were also asked to explore such manpower from their own security forces.

The letter also highlighted the need for the constitution of an internal security committee in hospitals with active involvement of resident doctors and students, laying down clear standard operating procedures (SOPs) for incidence response and robust background checks for all outsourced personnel and contractual workers employed in the hospitals.

It also emphasised on proper training and establishment of bereavement protocols for all doctors and healthcare workers to handle intense and emotional grief situations and deployment of patient facilitators or MTS for all patient-related activities inside the hospitals, which requires ferrying or shifting patients from diagnostics to therapeutics.

“Most of the states/UTs have informed in the meeting that various actions are already initiated as per the suggestions provided in the letter dated 23.08.2024 by the undersigned. It is also heartening to note that some of the states have initiated additional measures over and above those suggested by the MoHFW. In this regard, all the states and UTs are requested to provide an action-taken report of the immediate/ short-term remedial measures already initiated as well as appropriate action taken before September 10, 2024,” Chandra said in the letter.

On August 22, the Supreme Court directed that “the secretary in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare shall engage with the chief secretaries and directors general of police so as to ensure that the state governments/Union territories put in place certain basic minimum requirements pending the receipt of the report of the National Task Force to assuage the concerns of the doctors over their safety at their workplaces”.

The states have to take remedial and appropriate action given the exigencies of the situation within two weeks after the meeting, Chandra said.

On August 23, Chandra had written to the chief secretaries and DGPs of all states, drawing their attention to the issue of violent incidents in medical institutions and a recent protest of resident doctors across the country following an incident of alleged rape and killing of a trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court Wednesday took a strong note of an undertrial prisoner lodged in a Manipur jail not being taken to a hospital for treatment just because he belonged to the minority ‘Kuki’ community, saying it does not “trust the State”.

A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan made some strong observations against the State while hearing a plea filed by Lunkhongam Haokip that he was suffering from piles and tuberculosis and was not taken to hospital by jail officials despite having severe backache.

“We do not trust the State…The accused was not taken to hospital because he is from the Kuki community. So sad! We direct him to be examined now. If the medical report reveals something serious, we will take you to task,” the bench said.

The counsel for Mr Haokip claimed the jail officials did not pay heed to persistent requests for medical help.

The bench perused an order of the Manipur High Court and found that the undertrial prisoner was not taken to hospital since he was from Kuki community and “shifting him to a hospital will be hazardous taking into account the law and order situation”.

Manipur has been in the grip of an ethnic conflict between the minority Kuki and majority Meitei communities.

The bench directed the jail superintendent and the state authorities “to make necessary arrangements for his transportation to the Gauhati Medical College and get him examined therein. The medical exam shall be as regards piles, TB, tonsillitis, abdominal pain as well as problems in lower lumbar spine”.

It sought a detailed medical report on or before July 15 and asked the state to bear all the expenses, including the treatment cost.

Manipur descended into chaos and violence in May last year over a high court order directing the state government to consider including the non-tribal Meitei community in the list of Scheduled Tribes.

More than 170 people have been killed and several hundred others injured since ethnic violence first broke out in the state on May 3 last year when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for ST status.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)