10-member task force constituted by SC to make protocol to ensure doctors’ safety

New Delhi: In the wake of the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata, the Supreme Court on Tuesday established a 10-member National Task Force (NTF) to formulate a protocol for guaranteeing the safety and security of doctors, noting that their well-being is a matter of national interest.

According to the court, the task force will deliver its interim report in three weeks and its final report in two months.

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said a lack of institutional safety norms at medical establishments against both violence and sexual violence against medical professionals is a matter of serious concern.

It said there are legislations to protect medical professionals but they do not address the systemic issues.

The 10 members of the task force are -- Vice Admiral Arti Sarin, Director General, Medical Services (Navy), Dr D Nageshwar Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, Asian Institute of Gastroenterology and AIG Hospitals, Hyderabad, Dr M Srinivas, Director of Delhi-AIIMS, Dr Pratima Murthy, Director, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, Dr Goverdhan Dutt Puri, Executive Director, AIIMS Jodhpur, Dr Saumitra Rawat, Chairperson, Institute of Surgical Gastroenterology, GI and HPB Onco-Surgery and Liver Transplantation and Member, Board of Management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi.

The other members are -- Professor Anita Saxena, Vice-Chancellor, Pandit B D Sharma Medical University, Rohtak, former Dean of Academics, Chief Cardio thoracic Centre and Head Cardiology Department AIIMS, Delhi, Dr Pallavi Saple, Dean, Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals, Mumbai, and Dr Padma Srivastava, formerly Professor at the Department of Neurology, AIIMS Delhi.

The bench said the cabinet secretary and the home secretary to the Union government, secretary, Ministry of Health, chairperson, National Medical Commission and president, National Board of Examinations shall be the ex-officio members of the task force.

The apex court asked the NTF to formulate an action plan under two sub-heads --Preventing violence, including gender-based violence against medical professionals; and providing an enforceable national protocol for dignified and safe working conditions for interns, residents, senior residents, doctors, nurses and all medical professionals.

"The NTF shall be at liberty to make recommendations on all aspects of the action-plan highlighted above and any other aspects which the members seek to cover. They are at liberty to make additional suggestions, where appropriate.

"The NTF shall also suggest appropriate timelines by which the recommendations could be implemented based on the existing facilities in Hospitals. The NTF is requested to consult all stake-holders," the bench said.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will provide all logistical support including making travel arrangements, stay and secretarial assistance and bear the expenses of the members of the NTF, it said.

"All State Governments and UT Governments, through their Secretaries, in the Ministries of Health and Family Welfare and the Central Government, through the Secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare must collate information from all hospitals run by the State and the Central Government, respectively on how many security personnel are employed at each Hospital and each department;

"Whether there is a baggage and person screening mechanism in place at the entrance of the medical establishment. The total number of resting/duty rooms in the Hospital and specific details of the number in each Department. The facilities provided in the resting/duty rooms," the bench said.

The data as submitted shall be tabulated and filed with an affidavit by the Union Government within one month of this order, it said.

The apex court was hearing a suo motu case related to the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata amid nationwide protests over it.

With PTI inputs