New Delhi: On Friday, the Central Government released a vital order for the protection of healthcare workers across the nation. It directed all the heads of the government medical colleges and institutions under the order by the centre to register an institutional FIR within 6 hours in cases of violence against the healthcare workers on duty. It is in this regard that this directive has been given following protestation from doctors and other medical personnel after a junior doctor of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata was raped and murdered.
The protesting medical body has been concerned with a number of issues, including delayed reports in cases of attacks against healthy persons, something that is addressed by the government’s decision. Such delays lead to poor response and the worst scenario in terms of protection for people in the medical profession. The new directive is expected to bring efficiency in the legal procedures so as to meet the goal of dealing with the offenders of violence in hospitals.
The formal order was generated in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and signed by Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr. Atul Goel. The circular was circulated to all directors & medical superintendents of all the central government hospitals and institutions in New Delhi and the director of AIIMS New Delhi and other AIIMS centre in India. Even the heads of all government medical colleges were part of the directive.
The order emphasizes that the head of the institution will be personified for not filing an FIR within the one-sixth of a day after the act of violence against a healthcare worker on duty happens. This is expected to bring down the frequency of violent attacks on health workers, which have now become rampant in most governmental health facilities.
The Union Ministry of Health directive also takes cognizance of the increasing incidences of violence against doctors and other health service providers by patients or persons in their company.
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