During the hearing of the Kolkata rape and murder case, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the creation of a National Task Force to ensure the safety and security of women doctors across the country in the wake of the ongoing protests following the rape and murder of a medic in Kolkata.
This decision from the Supreme Court came after a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud took suo motu cognisance of the rape and murder case at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The top court bench said if women are not able to go to work and working conditions are not safe, we are denying them equality.
“We are establishing a national task force consisting of doctors from across India to develop strategies ensuring the safety and security of doctors within hospitals,” CJI Chandrachud said during the hearing of the matter. He added, “We appeal to all doctors to trust us. We are here to protect you.”
The Supreme Court also blasted the West Bengal government and the hospital administration for delaying the filing of the FIR in the case and said the nation cannot wait for another rape and murder case to bring about changes in society.
The Supreme Court bench also sought to know from the Bengal government what action must be initiated against the former principal Sandip Ghosh.
How National Task Force will ensure safety of women doctors?
The Supreme Court-led National Task Force will address the widespread concerns raised by the incident and restore confidence among medical professionals.
The Supreme Court suggested the following measures to ensure the safety of healthcare women doctors:
- Areas of the emergency room may need additional security at the hospitals
- Baggage screening needed to prevent arms from entering hospitals
- Not allowing persons beyond a limit if they are not patients
- Security to manage the crowd
- Restrooms should be there for doctors and gender-neutral spaces for the resting of doctors and nurses.
- Proper lighting of all areas, installation of CCTV in all places should be there.
- Transport facility from 10 pm to 6 am for medical professions should be there.
- Workshops should be conducted for handling grief and crisis
- Helpline numbers to be there for emergencies for medical professions
National Task Force: List of Members
The Supreme Court also stressed on the need for a national consensus involving all stakeholders and announced the formation of a national task force to address these concerns. The task force will include:
Admiral Aarti Sarin, Director General of Medical Services, Navy
- Dr. D. Nageshwar Reddy
- Dr. M. Srinivas, Director of AIIMS Delhi
- Dr. Pratima Murthy, NIMHANS Bangalore
- Dr. Goverdhan Dutt Puri, AIIMS Jodhpur
- Dr. Somikra Rawat, Member, Gangaram Hospital Delhi
- Prof. Anita Saxena, Vice Chancellor
- Pallavi Saple, JJ Group of Hospitals
- Padma Srivastava, Chairperson of Neurology, Paras Hospital Gurgaon
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