Bhubaneswar: Amid nation-wide outrage over rape and murder of a lady doctor student in Kolkata, the State Government has formulated a policy to ensure safety and security of doctors and other medical staff in hospitals and medical colleges in the State.
According to a notification issued by the State Health and Family Welfare Department, any incident of violence against medical students should be promptly investigated by the college management and an FIR should be lodged with the Police within six hours by the head of the institution.
The superintendent of police (SP) of the concerned district has to take immediate and appropriate action as per law against miscreants.
The detailed action taken report of such an incident of violence should invariably be sent to the National Medical commission (NMC), within 48 hours of the incident, it said.
The healthcare institutions have been asked to deploy security guards in all OPDs and 24×7 outside wards. As far as possible, both male and female security guards must be posted.
The healthcare institutions will provide ID cards and dress codes to all employees, where applicable.
Visitors pass system would be made mandatory for indoor patients. Only two entry passes are to be issued per patient, for attending the patient during official visiting hours and the attendants entering the ward should be frisked by the internal security guards to check for possession of any dangerous/objectionable items.
The government has asked the head of the institutions to install CCTV cameras at strategic locations of the hospitals for monitoring of the activities in the hospital.
“CCTVs should be installed outside all hostels’ main gate, roads, roundabouts, stairwells, other strategic points on campus and on each floor of the hostel,” it said.
Besides, a control room will be set up in each institution for security personnel to keep watch on CCTV footage 24×7, which must have at least three months storage recording backup.
The policy also said that a police outpost may be established within the premises of all government medical colleges and hospitals, with posting of at least one female police staff on duty at all times.
Signage highlighting the penal provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Odisha Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage of Properly) Act, 2008 will be placed in front of the health institutions.
The health care institutions have been further asked to take steps to offer support services, including counselling, women’s self-defence training programs, and peer support groups to address workplace stress or trauma.