UT may adopt Punjab Act for medicos

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 17

The UT Administration is likely to adopt the Punjab Protection of Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act in the wake of the week-long protest by doctors in Chandigarh.

UT Home Secretary Arun Kumar Gupta told The Tribune, “We will most likely adopt the Punjab prevention of violence Act. There are more stringent provisions that we may consider. It will be easier to adopt the Punjab model. The laws once framed will be sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs for approval.”

In the absence of any law for the protection of doctors against violence in the UT, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) today called for a 24-hour strike as a mark of zero tolerance to violence against doctors and medical professionals.

As a mark of solidarity, the association observed June 17 as National Protest Day in support of agitating doctors of West Bengal. 

A memorandum was submitted today to Member of Parliament Kirron Kher, UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore, Home Secretary Arun Gupta and Director, Health Services, G Dewan demanding that the Punjab Act should be extended to  Chandigarh. The law is  currently applicable to 19 states.

According to the IMA, even though the law came into force in Punjab and Haryana in 2009, no case was registered under the Act in these states.

UT doctors have also demanded a hotline with the police. The association wrote to the UT police, “At present, if any doctor apprehends a potential security issue in a hospital, he or she makes a call to a PCR vehicle, which can take some time to respond and many times is not fully equipped to handle a violent mob. In many cities, a hotline has been set up between IMA officials and the Police Department. Any doctor in a difficult situation contacts an IMA official, who assesses the situation and uses the hotline if police assistance is required.”

Medics’ take

Dr Hardeep Singh Santok of the IMA said, “At present, there are 4,200 medical beds in the city, of which 3,200 are at the PGI, the GMSH, Sector 16, and the GMCH, Sector 32. The doctor-patient ratio is higher due to which the mortality rate is bound to increase. Mostly, patients who are referred to these government hospitals are already in a critical condition. Special security personnel should be deployed at these three institutions.”

Dr Neeraj Nagpal, convener, Medicos’ Legal Action Group, said, “When you perpetrate violence on doctors on duty, you are putting the lives of other patients at risk. A similar incident happened at the PGI when a doctor was physically assaulted by goons and another patient had to lose a life.”

Nagpal said, “In the past 15 years, young MBBS doctors have not stayed in Chandigarh for practice. We have approached all medical colleges to send us alumni data so that we can track them. In the absence of any law for the protection of the doctors, human resource is bleeding out.”

What doctors want

• Enactment of Punjab Protection of Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions Act to the UT
• A hotline between the police and the IMA
• Security at the GMSH-16, GMCH-32 and the PGI
• Punishment to police official for not registering FIR
• Filing of violence complaint by head of medical institute 

Why pan-India stir

This is against the “black day in the history of healthcare” on June 10 when around 200 people brutally attacked on duty resident/intern doctors at Kolkata, causing grievous injuries to many of them. This was followed by remarks by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who threatened young protesting doctors. There have been widespread protests by the medical community all over the country over the past one week.