Copyright thehindu
Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) is launching a “Jeevan raksha” (Life protection) agitation on Saturday demanding that the State government ensure a safe working environment for doctors and health workers in hospitals. This agitation is being launched in the wake of a brutal physical assault on a doctor on duty at Thamarassery Taluk Hospital last month, following which the government promised to ensure a safe working environment for doctors. However, none of the assurances have been implemented, KGMOA said. In the first phase of the agitation, government doctors across the State will refrain from all duties other than patient-care. KGMOA said that doctors were extremely disappointed that despite repeated assurances, the system has consistently failed to address the issue of safe working places for healthcare professionals. The long-standing demand of doctors and other health workers that hospitals be declared as high-security zones remains unfulfilled, it said. Following the violent murder of Vandana Das, a young doctor while on duty, the government had announced several measures for the enhanced security for doctors. However, apart from the amendment to strengthen the Hospital Protection Act and new guidelines for the medical examination of persons in custody, none of the other decisions were implemented. Many promises made by the government, such as entrusting security of major hospitals to the State Industrial Security Force, establishing police aid posts in all hospitals with casualty wings, conducting security audits every six months, remain on paper. Code Grey protocol KGMOA said that the implementation of the Code Grey protocol in hospitals has been a patchy affair. Installation of CCTV and the appointment of ex-servicemen for hospital security has also not happened. KGMOA demanded that triage systems be introduced in all casualty units in government hospitals without delay and that at least two Casualty medical officers be ensured on duty in every shift. SISF should be deployed for hospital security and police aid posts should be set up in all hospitals with casualty wings. It also threatened to intensify the agitation and stay away from patient care if the government did nothing to provide a safe work environment in hospitals.
