Pinarayi Vijayan convened an emergency high-level meeting following the protest of healthcare workers and decided to issue the ordinance.
A life cut short: Dr. Vandana Das. (Supplied)
The case related to the killing of the young doctor Vandana Das in Kottarakara in Kerala has been taken over by the Kollam district Crime Branch, the police said on Friday, 12 May.
Dr Vandana Das, a native of the Kaduthuruthy area of the Kottayam district and the only child of her parents, was a house surgeon at Azeezia Medical College Hospital working at the Kottarakkara taluk hospital as part of her training.
She was stabbed to death by a man brought there by the police in the early hours of Wednesday.
“The District Crime Branch will probe the matter now,” a senior district police official told PTI.
The young doctor’s killing led to a furore in the state, following which the government decided to issue an ordinance to amend the hospital protection law.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan convened an emergency high-level meeting on Thursday following the protest of doctors and other healthcare workers and decided to issue the ordinance.
The ordinance to amend the Kerala Healthcare Service Persons and Healthcare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act of 2012 would be introduced in the next cabinet meeting, said a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).
It was also decided that police outposts would be set up in all major hospitals in the state, it added.
Kerala Health Minister Veena George, Chief Secretary VP Joy, the secretaries of health, law, and medical education, the state police chief, ADGPs, and various other officials attended the meeting.
The accused, G Sandeep, a school teacher by profession is currently under judicial custody. He was brought to the hospital by police for the treatment of a leg injury.
He had dialled the emergency number 112, claiming his life was in danger. When local police located him, he was standing away from his home, surrounded by residents and his relatives and had a wound on his leg and a stick in his hand.
He was taken to the hospital accompanied by his brother-in-law and a local political party leader.
During the dressing of his wound, he got violent. He initially stabbed the politician and the police there and then repeatedly stabbed Das, who could not escape to safety.
Das, who sustained grievous injuries in the attack, died a few hours after the incident.
The government’s decision came hours after the Kerala High Court said that the incident had been an outcome of a “systemic failure”.
Following the attack on her, protests erupted in various hospitals across the state, with healthcare professionals, medical interns, students and house surgeons taking to the streets.
Taking up the matter, the Kerala High Court slammed the state government and the police for failing to protect the young doctor.
The court termed the killing as the outcome of a “systemic failure”, and said it “cannot be brushed aside as an isolated incident”.
It directed state DGP Anil Kant to “ensure that security is provided to all hospitals in the manner as is legally possible so as to prevent any further incidents of attack”.
The court also directed that sufficient protocols be created with regard to the manner in which persons in custody — whether they are accused or others — are to be presented in hospitals or before doctors or healthcare professionals, as part of the criminal justice system or otherwise.
“The police will have to certainly pull up their socks on a war footing,” a bench of Justices Devan Ramachandran and Kauser Edappagath said.
On Thursday evening, at the meeting chaired by the chief minister, the government decided to strengthen security in hospitals run by it, by dividing them into three categories, with the first category comprising medical colleges, district hospitals, general hospitals, and women’s and children’s hospitals where police outposts would be set up.
The statement from the CMO did not mention details about the other two categories of hospitals.
Besides police outposts, there should be comprehensive police surveillance, CCTV cameras, and warning systems in all three categories of hospitals to create conditions where doctors and other healthcare professionals could work safely, the CMO statement said.
Additionally, a security audit would be conducted every six months in all hospitals by the health and police departments under the supervision of the concerned district collectors. “It was also decided in the meeting to explore the possibility of appointing two doctors in the emergency wards of government hospitals at night,” the statement said.
Regarding taking accused persons and those of a violent nature for medical examination, the chief minister said a special security system should be put in place for that.
Some of these measures, including the issuance of the ordinance and the installation of CCTV cameras, were suggested by the Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) in a letter to the chief minister for strengthening security in state-run hospitals.
The KGMOA thus withdrew its agitation after the announcement of the proposed ordinance.
The association of medical professionals had also suggested that armed police be deployed at aid posts to be set up at hospitals that have emergency wards.
Apart from this, it also sought the implementation of government orders regarding the triage system in such wards and the appointment of more chief medical officers (CMOs) so that there can be two CMOs in every shift in such wards.
With regard to the medical examination of persons in police custody, the association suggested making arrangements, including the appointment of more doctors in jails.
Prior to sending the letter, KGMOA and other doctors’ associations met Vijayan in the morning and discussed with him their grievances and demands.
The functioning of hospitals was largely hit across the state due to the agitation by medical students and doctors.
Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and casualties were exempted from the stir, but the Out Patient (OP) services in the state hospitals were affected.
During the hearing in the high court, the bench urged the state government and the police to take steps to pacify the protesting doctors so that the patients queuing up outside government hospitals were not put to hardship.
The court said it was concerned that if something happened to a patient as a result of the strike, public sentiment might turn against the doctors.
(With PTI inputs)
Apr 26, 2024
Apr 26, 2024
Apr 26, 2024
Apr 26, 2024
Apr 25, 2024
Apr 25, 2024
