In the first week of September, a meeting was held with the medical officers on behalf of the Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Department at the state Secretariat in Chennai. Instructions have been issued to conduct security audits in collaboration with police and health department officials to assess the current security arrangements in all medical college hospitals and government hospitals.
Published Oct 01, 2024 | 8:00 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 01, 2024 | 8:00 AM
Representative image of a government medical college (Wikimedia Commons)
The Health and Family Welfare Department of the Tamil Nadu government is taking steps to strengthen security measures in medical colleges and hospitals to ensure the safety of doctors and other staff members.
It comes following the National Medical Commission (NMC) circular directing states to ensure the safety of staff in all medical colleges and hospitals after the rape and murder of a female trainee doctor at a government medical college in West Bengal on 9 August.
Doctors and the general public condemned the incident, including protests in different parts of the nation.
In the first week of September, a meeting was held with the medical officers on behalf of the Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Department at the state Secretariat in Chennai.
Instructions have been issued to conduct security audits in collaboration with police and health department officials to assess the current security arrangements in all medical college hospitals and government hospitals.
Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association Treasurer Rengaswamy said, “While security audits have been conducted in medical colleges and hospitals in collaboration with the police department, a request has been made on the part of government doctors regarding some important security aspects such as ensuring the functioning of the existing CCTV cameras and regulating the entry time of visitors to the in-patient wards.”
Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Department Secretary Supriya Sahu said three rounds of discussions were held with officials from the heads of the departments of medical colleges, directors of public health and preventive medicine, medical education and medical and rural health services.
She added that consultations with the Director General of Police (DGP) and the Home Secretary were held before that.
“We also consulted with respective Superintendents of Police (SPs) and joint director, deputy director and deans of every medical college regarding the district-level security audits,” Sahu said.
“Following this, it has been directed to conduct a joint security audit of all medical college hospitals and government hospitals with police and health department officials to assess the current security arrangements and propose measures to improve the overall security of the hospitals,” she said.
The number of CCTV cameras installed in hospitals and whether they are functional will also be noted, along with the inspection of the availability of lights at night.
“Some important aspects including security and presence of guards at the entrances and time of entry of visitors into the in-patient wards are being taken to monitor the movement of people,” Sahu said.
“Hospitals have also been advised to set up two committees, the Hospital Safety Committee and the Violence Prevention Committee, to strategise and implement appropriate security measures. Former medical college deans, senior doctors and members of patient welfare associations are reportedly being considered for inclusion in these committees,” she added.
State Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ma Subramanian said a sufficient number of CCTV cameras with at least one month’s storage capacity have been installed in all important areas of the hospitals for continuous monitoring.
“We have directed the deans and officers to set up control rooms to ensure continuous monitoring. Attendance of outsourced security personnel in all hospitals is monitored through a biometric system and personnel are regularly trained on security protocol,” he said.
“The penalties and punishment provisions of the Tamil Nadu Medical Service Persons and Medical Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss of Property) Act, 2008 are displayed in Tamil and English at places in the hospital premises,” he added.
The minister said steps have been taken to regulate the entry of the general public, patients and their relatives, and visitors to the main areas of the hospital.
“Arrangements are made for the safe movement of doctors and nurses in different parts of the hospital, hostel buildings and other areas during the night shift. Regular night patrols of the police have been extended to all hospital premises and are attached to the nearest police station for security,” he said.
Health department officials said that joint meetings with police officials are planned monthly to ensure that medical colleges and hospitals have adequate security arrangements.
Meanwhile, Dr Manivannan, who is working at a government hospital, pointed out the attacks on doctors by the kin of some patients and the need for action against it.
“The government has ordered the installation of more CCTV cameras and enhanced security measures in hospitals. However, during some medical emergencies, relatives of patients, who don’t understand the complexities of the doctors’ job, try to attack them,” he said.
In cases of complaints by doctors, such people should be promptly arrested. Moreover, appropriate security measures need to be established to check the occurrence of such incidents,” he added.
Regarding this, Sahu said, “The issue was already discussed during the consultation meeting with the medical department officials. Necessary directives have been issued to take steps to ensure proper security measures in all medical colleges and hospitals.”
“It has also been ordered to impose restrictions on the access of patients and their relatives to various areas in the hospital. Similarly, hospitals have been advised to appoint adequate security personnel and provide them with proper training,” she said.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)
