The Supreme Court on Tuesday constituted a 9-member National Task Force (NTF) comprising senior doctors to recommend safety measures for doctors nationwide.
A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, was hearing matters related to the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata after taking suo motu cognisance of the case.
The barbaric assault on the trainee doctor has sparked widespread protests by doctors, who have been demanding justice for the victim and enhanced safety for health workers.
National Task Force Members
The NTF, established by the apex court, will include Surgeon Vice Admiral RK Sarin; Dr. D. Nageshwar Reddy, Managing Director of the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology; Dr. M. Srinivas, Director of AIIMS Delhi; Dr. Prathima Murthy from NIMHANS, Bengaluru; Dr. Sanjay Puri from AIIMS Jodhpur; Dr. Shiv Kumar Sarin, Managing Member of Ganga Ram Hospital; Prof. Anita Saxena, Vice-Chancellor of Pandit BD Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak; Dr. Pallavi Saple, Dean of Grant Medical College, Mumbai; and Dr. Padma Srivastava from the Neurology Department at AIIMS.
The task force will submit an interim report within three weeks and a final report within two months.
During the hearing, CJI Chandrachud stated, “We are deeply concerned that the name, photo, and video clip of the Kolkata rape victim were published everywhere. The law prohibits publishing victims’ names. Is this how we provide dignity to the young doctor who has lost her life?”
“We need to evolve a national consensus for a standard protocol for safe working conditions. Ultimately, what is equality under the Constitution if women cannot be safe in their workplace?” he added.
The Court announced the formation of the NTF with doctors from diverse backgrounds as its members to “suggest modalities to be followed all across India so that young and middle-aged doctors are safe in their work environment.”
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Ex-officio members
In addition to the aforementioned 9 members, the NTF will also include five ex officio members: the Cabinet Secretary to the Government of India, the Home Secretary to the Government of India, the Secretary of the Union Health Ministry, the Chairperson of the National Medical Commission, and the President of the National Board of Examiners.
According to Bar and Bench, the task force will be responsible for examining and recommending measures to ensure the safety and well-being of medical professionals, as well as addressing other related concerns, as directed by the Bench.
The action plan will consider the following:
Portion from Supreme Court order
Areas of emergency room may need additional security
Baggage screening needed to prevents arms from entering
Not allowing persons beyond a limit if they are not patients
Security to manage crowd
Have rest rooms for doctors and gender neutral spaces for resting of doctors, nurses
Areas which need biometrics and facial recognition
Proper lighting of all areas, installation of CCTV in all places
Transport from 10 pm to 6 am for medical professions
Conducting workshops for handling grief and crisis
Quarterly audits of institutional safety measures
Establishing police force commensurate with footfall
POSH Act applies to medical establishments thus ICC to be constituted
Helpline number to be there for emergency of medical professions
“The NTF shall report on all aspects of the action plan mentioned above and may include other relevant considerations. The NTF shall also suggest appropriate timelines for implementing these recommendations based on the hospitals’ existing infrastructure,” the Court stated in its order.
