Padma awardee doctors write to PM Modi seeking separate law for healthcare workers

Expressing anguish over the Kolkata rape-murder incident, over 70 Padma awardee doctors have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding quick enactment of a special law to deal with violence against healthcare personnel and implementation of improved safety protocols in medical facilities.

The renowned doctors like Ashok Vaid, Harsh Mahajan, Anoop Misra, A K Grover, Alka Kriplani and Mohsin Wali have sought PM Modi's "immediate and personal intervention" to address the "alarming" situation and suggested that the Centre bring an ordinance immediately to ensure the "harshest possible punishment" to those who indulge in violence against healthcare workers, whether verbal or physical.

There have been widespread protests by healthcare personnel and others following the alleged rape and murder of a woman trainee doctor at the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital and claims of a botched-up investigation and cover-up. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) and other doctors' bodies are pressing for a central law to ensure the safety of medics.

The eminent doctors also urged stricter enforcement of existing laws and enhanced safety measures in hospitals and medical institutions.

Among those who have written the letter are former Director General of ICMR Dr Balram Bhargav, former AIIMS Delhi Director Dr Randeep Guleria and Dr S K Sarin, Director of Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences,

“We, the Padma Awardee doctors, write to you with deep concern and profound anguish regarding the horrific events that recently occurred at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata. As the head of our nation, we implore your immediate and personal intervention to address this alarming situation," the letter said.

They said such acts of brutality shake the very foundations of service by medical professionals and highlight the urgent need to address violence, particularly against women, girls, and healthcare professionals.

"We stand in unwavering solidarity with the victim's family, whose pain and loss are unimaginable. We also extend our full support to the medical community, who are increasingly confronting such violence in the course of their work. The safety and dignity of healthcare professionals must be safeguarded with utmost priority," the letter said.

The doctors stated that stronger measures are desperately needed to prevent such atrocities.

"We call upon law enforcement agencies, policymakers, and society at large to take immediate and decisive action," the letter said.

The doctors emphasised the need for law enforcement agencies to more rigorously apply current legal frameworks to protect healthcare professionals and advocated for severe and swift penalties to serve as a deterrent against such crimes.

The letter urges the government to implement improved safety protocols within healthcare facilities to ensure a secure working environment for all medical staff.

"We urge the central and state governments to quickly enact and implement a separate law for the protection of healthcare workers, ensuring its rapid enforcement on the ground," the letter said.

"A proposed bill, The Prevention of Violence Against Doctors, Medical Professionals and Medical Institutions Bill, has been ready since 2019 but has not yet been tabled in Parliament for passage and adoption.

"We strongly believe that an ordinance to this effect can be brought immediately, and the bill should be passed post-haste so that all those working in healthcare delivery systems in the country can work without fear, in service of suffering patients," the letter said.

The doctors also stressed that the proposed ordinance/bill should ensure that the harshest possible punishment is given to those who indulge in violence against healthcare workers, whether verbal or physical.

Such cases should be resolved swiftly by the judiciary, with offences categorised as non-bailable.

"Let this tragedy serve as a catalyst for real, lasting change. We earnestly appeal to you through this letter to safeguard the medical profession against physical assaults and defacement of the dignity and respect of all healthcare workers," the letter said.

"We owe it to the late Nirbhaya, and to all victims of sexual violence, and to future generations to create a society where such horrors are unthinkable” the doctors said, expressing hope for a quick and decisive action.

The awardee doctors include Radiologist and Founder and Managing Director of Mahajan Imaging Dr Harsh Mahajan, Dr Nikhil Tandon, head of the department of endocrinology at AIIMS, Delhi, Dr D S Rana, Chairman of the Department of Nephrology at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Dr Dr Sandeep Guleria, Transplant Specialist Surgeon.

Healthcare services in Gujarat were affected as doctors from government and private hospitals took to the streets on Saturday amid the 24-hour nationwide protest over the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at a Kolkata medical college. Doctors stayed away from the outpatient departments (OPDs) and did not conduct elective surgeries in several hospitals across the state as part of a strike call given by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Gujarat Junior Doctors' Association.

Doctors held protest gatherings and took out rallies, shouting slogans demanding justice for the woman doctor who was brutally raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9. Dr Mona Desai, a former president of the IMA's Ahmedabad chapter, led a delegation of protesting doctors and submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in the state capital Gandhinagar. "We have submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel with a list of demands, including an increase in security, making hospitals safe zones with CCTV cameras and enhanced security personnel so that doctors can work in a safe environment without fear," Desai later told reporters.

The strike affected OPD services in several government hospitals. Junior doctors of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Rajkot joined the protest and stayed away from the OPD, while in Vadodara, doctors at GMERS Hospital urged patients to join the stir and distributed pamphlets to raise awareness about the issue. Dr Hemangi Shah, a junior doctor at GMERS, Gandhinagar, said that she and her colleagues were protesting for the harshest punishment for the accused in the rape and murder. "We also demand security in government hospitals. We are not happy with the security in emergency wards at the hospital, especially for the staff on night duty," she said.

The IMA on Friday put forth five demands, including a thorough overhaul of the working and living conditions of resident doctors and a central law to check violence against healthcare professionals at workplaces. It declared a nationwide withdrawal of non-emergency medical services for 24 hours beginning at 6 am on Saturday. All essential services will be maintained, and casualties will be manned. The routine OPDs will not function, and elective surgeries will not be conducted. The withdrawal is across all the sectors wherever modern medicine doctors are providing service, the doctors' body had said in a statement.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has initiated a 24-hour nationwide strike starting at 6 am today in response to the rape and murder of a female doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The strike will continue until 6 am on Sunday (August 18). Concurrently, the National Commission for Women’s (NCW) two-member Inquiry Committee has reviewed the incident and submitted a preliminary report highlighting issues such as inadequate security, poor facilities, improper investigation, and lack of protection.

The strike entails a 24-hour suspension of non-emergency health services starting until 6 am tomorrow. Routine outpatient departments (OPDs) will be non-operational, and elective surgeries will be postponed. This withdrawal spans all areas where modern medicine doctors are providing services, according to the IMA. Nonetheless, all essential services will continue, and emergency cases will be attended to, the organization stated. As doctors nationwide show solidarity with the medical community, the IMA also demanded timely justice for the victim and appropriate punishment for those involved in the vandalism incident.

Elective medical services at Delhi hospitals remain suspended for the sixth consecutive day as doctors in the national capital continue their protest, demanding justice for the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata. The Indian Medical Association's 24-hour nationwide strike also began at 6 am on Saturday. Major hospital resident doctors' association (RDA) members will gather again in the evening to protest after demonstrations in various parts of the city on Friday.

Doctors in Delhi government hospitals, responding to calls by multiple RDAs, including those from AIIMS, RML Hospital and DDU Hospital, have held protest marches, candlelight vigils across the city over the rape-murder incident. The associations collectively agreed to implement a common unified action plan aimed at pushing for a central protection Act, which they believe is crucial for safeguarding the interests and lives of healthcare workers across the nation.

The RDAs emphasised this protest is not just a demand for justice but a call for action to prevent further violence and ensure the safety of those on the frontline of healthcare. On Friday, thousands of doctors who had been protesting on their respective hospital premises came out and demonstrated in different parts of Delhi, including a dharna outside the Nirman Bhawan. Meanwhile, patients have been struggling to receive necessary medical treatments since Monday and some of them expressed their frustration over it.

"We agree what happened was brutal and swift justice should be provided, but you cannot harm innocent people. Since Monday, I've been trying to get my treatment but the hospital staff asked me to return because the doctors are on strike," a patient who has come for treatment at Delhi, AIIMS from Sohna, Haryana said. "It's been five days now, and we're still not getting our treatment. If we could afford private services, we wouldn't have to stand in line at 4 am. We hope a doctor will end this and eventually treat us," he said.

Protesting doctors have assured that essential emergency services, including ICUs, emergency procedures and emergency operation theatres will continue to operate without disruption. Meanwhile, private hospitals have also extended support to government hospitals that are on strike. However, there is no indication that private hospitals are shutting down their elective services.