Doctors’ strike: Health ministry unlikely to support new law to protect medical staff

Doctors across India have been protesting against the rape and murder of a trainee doctor from Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College.

3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Aug 20, 2024 04:25 PM IST

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Doctors protest the rape and murder of a woman doctor in Kolkata.

The demand of protesting doctors to bring in a special law to protect healthcare workers is unlikely to be supported by the Union Health Ministry, indicated senior officials, adding it would not make any difference anyway.

The officials said a panel is being constituted to look into effective security measures and the protesting doctors can make representations in front of it. The Health Ministry, meanwhile, approved a 25% spike in security deployment in Central government-run hospitals. Deployment of marshals will also be allowed.

A senior official said: “Bringing in an ordinance is no solution to violence faced by doctors. 26 states and UTs (of the total 36), including Bengal, have some form of legislation to protect healthcare workers. Yet, we hear of incidents of violence. Rape and murder anywhere have to be addressed by the law of the land. A law for protection of doctors can only cover incidents between doctors and patients and their family members, it can’t cover everything. Better security is the need of the hour. And a panel is being formed to look into steps that can be taken.”

Doctors shouted slogans like ‘no safety, no duty’ and ‘we want justice’ to protest the rape and murder of a woman doctor in Kolkata that has sparked nationwide outrage among healthcare professionals. (Express Photo by Arul Horizon)

Asked whether the panel will consider the protesting doctors’ demand, the official said they will look at all possible measures. The panel will have members from the Health Ministry, National Medical Commission and states.

“We want to bring the states on board because health, after all, is a state subject. There is no point in the Centre issuing advisories if the states don’t or can’t follow it. We want to bring everyone together to find short, medium and long-term solutions. The doctors’ associations should make representations to the committee,” the official said, urging the protesting doctors to return to work.

Also Read | R G Kar Hospital incident underline needs for legal protection for safety of healthcare workers

Doctors across India have been protesting against the rape and murder of a trainee doctor from RG Kar Medical College. They have been demanding a special law for protection of healthcare workers. While a Bill was drafted in 2019 after a nation-wide protest, it was never tabled in Parliament.

The 2019 draft had proposed stringent norms, with punishment ranging up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh for violence against doctors on duty. During the pandemic, the Centre had also promulgated an ordinance, bringing in changes to the Epidemic Diseases Act, making violence against healthcare personnel a cognizable and non-bailable offence with imprisonment up to seven years and a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh.

Anonna Dutt

Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More

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