West Bengal issues directions to ensure safety of healthcare staff in state

After a meeting with the protesting doctors in Kolkata, the West Bengal government on Thursday issued a new set of directions with regard to the safety and security of the state’s healthcare professionals.
Directions have been issued keeping in focus the safety, security and efficient functioning of the healthcare system.
As per the directions, adequate availability of on-duty rooms, washrooms, CCTVs, drinking water facilities at various healthcare facilities should be ensured at the earliest.
All medical colleges and hospitals and other healthcare institutions must be advised to ensure implementation of these measures in consultation with all stakeholders, officials said.
The Mamata Banerjee government has appointed Surajit Kar Purkayastha, Chairman Satyendranath Tagore Civil Services Study Centre (SNTCSSC) and former DGP, West Bengal for a security audit of all Medical Colleges and Hospitals.
All committees, including the internal complaints’ committee, should be made fully functional by the department. It should also be ensured that an adequate number of police/security personnel along with female cops and guards are deployed at every healthcare facility in consultation with the Home Department.
It should also be ensured that mobile teams are deployed by local police authorities for surveillance, especially during night hours, as per the directives.
Additionally, a centralised Helpline has also been launched, a panic call button alarm system along with access control systems are to be made available at every healthcare facility as early as possible.
A centrally monitored real time bed availability information system should also be operationalised at all government facilities, as per the government order. Also, bed availability information should be digitally displayed for the benefit of the public at every healthcare facility at a prominent place.
A centralised referral system will also be operationalised, and immediate steps would be taken to fill up vacant posts of doctors, nurses, GDAS technicians etc, the government said.
People and healthcare professionals may still face issues with the proper implementation of the directions and hence would require to lodge complaints, if need be.
For that purpose, a robust grievance redressal system will also be developed to address the grievances and complaints of all the stakeholders, patients and attendants promptly.
The government said that all the directions shall be implemented with immediate effect and progress regarding the implementation of the directions must be conveyed to a State Level Task Force.
The directions were issued after junior doctors put forth a series of demands to the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government.
The demands, sent to Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, aimed at improving working conditions and the safety of healthcare workers, are wide-ranging and touch on both administrative reforms and infrastructure needs.
Junior doctors in Bengal and across the country staged protests against a trainee woman doctor’s rape and murder at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.
During the protests, the agitating doctors highlighted the absence of key facilities, such as restrooms, necessary security measures and grievance redressal systems, among others, at hospitals.