The shocking incident of rape and murder of a trainee doctor on duty in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata has shaken the confidence of everyone – from patients and their attendants to doctors on duty, especially women. We need to restore it by eliminating the conditions that lead to endangering the security in hospitals, which is one of the demands of striking doctors across India.

In response to the call made on August 12 by the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) of India, doctors of government hospitals in several states in the country went on indefinite strike protesting the rape and murder of the trainee doctor, demanding justice to the victim, and security for doctors.

What makes the situation more concerning is the attitude of the Union Ministry of Health that failed to resolved the issues raised by the protesting doctors’ association. The representatives of the association met the officials of the ministry, but having failed in getting the issues resolved they had to announce an extension of their indefinite strike saying,

“The strike will not be lifted until justice is served and our demands are met.” Association’s demand included security protocols for healthcare workers, and that the Centre must enforce a mandated protocol for security of healthcare workers.

In a letter to Union Minister of Health JP Nadda, FORDA has described the Kolkata incident as “perhaps the greatest travesty to have occurred in the history of the resident doctor community.” FORDA has also demanded resignation of all authorities concerned who could not protect the dignity and life of a woman doctor on duty.

The allegation that the college administration attempted a cover-up after the dead body was found, is of serious concern. Police have arrested a person who was reportedly a “civic volunteer” at the hospital in this connection, whose duty are still unclear. What has been reported about the arrested person is also a matter of serious concern.

It has been reported that he was operating in part as a tout to speed up admissions for patients in return for money. A major question is why shouldn’t we have a proper screening of the people before they are allowed to work as “civic volunteer”? It has been reported that there was also a case registered against the accused abusing other women including his wife and mother-in-law.

It has been reported that the arrested person was stationed at the police outpost at RG Kar Hospital and had access to all departments. He was arrested on the basis of CCTV footage that showed him entering the building where the doctor was found dead.

The Chief Minister of Bengal Mamata Banerjee has given a stern warning to Kolkata police that the investigation would be transferred to the CBI if the police are unable to crack the case by Sunday, August 18.

Police on the other hand has said that they have taken all steps that are required to investigate the case, however, the allegations of cover-up are not dying including the allegation that there is an effort to wash away evidences before the case is handed over to CBI.

In the Kolkata’s medical college and hospital where the shocking incident happened, medical services, such as OPDs and non-emergency surgery, have come to halt, since the dead body of the victim was found in the morning on Friday, August 9, in a seminar room where she went to rest for a while.

Treatment at most hospitals in Kolkata has taken a hit due to doctors joining the protest. In other states too, in several government medical facilities, non-emergency medical services have been affected due to doctors’ protests.

India Medical Association (IMA), the largest body of doctors in India, has given an ultimatum of two days on demands made before central and state government which include declaring hospitals as safe zones, defining security measures and bringing central law on violence.

IMA has said that the doctor, who had been on a 36-hour shift, had gone to the seminar room to take rest around 2AM due to the lack of a designated duty room for doctors. The IMA’s national President RV Asokan said, “While such abuse has become a routine occurrence in India, but unfortunately, it takes such severe incidents to draw attention to the problem.

“This is the safety status of big government hospitals then imagine how safe the public health centres (PHCs) are in remote areas. It’s the right time to bring back the Healthcare Service Personnel and Clinical Establishments Bill, 2019, which was shelved after extending the bill for public comments,” Asokan said, adding that the IMA has been demanding a central law on violence against doctors and hospitals.

“We are dealing with the situation in consultation with our West Bengal branch. What we want from the West Bengal government is an impartial and thorough investigation of the case, including a detailed inquiry into the conditions that enabled the crime, along with urgent steps to improve the safety of doctors, particularly women, in the workplace, and the punishment of the culprits,” he said.

 The overall security situation in hospitals in India is far from satisfactory. An Indian Medical Association survey had recently found that 75 per cent of doctors in the country faced some form of violence. It goes without saying that changes are required in the way the government hospitals in the country operate.

 Agitating doctors in Kolkata have set August 14 as deadline for Kolkata police to complete the probe. They have also been pressing for judicial probe into the matter. “The cease work and protest will continue till our demands are met. We have been very clear about our demands. We want a judicial probe into the incident,” agitating doctors have said. “Why do they need a deadline till Sunday?”

The entire episode presents the Centre and the State in very poor light, since the way India’s government hospital administrations function has numerous security lapses leading to such incidents.