Medical advisory body puts Code Violet in place for safety of doctors

New Delhi, August 20

The Directorate General of Health Services under the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) on Tuesday issued an advisory in light of the recent incident of rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor in Kolkata. The advisory has been issued to all medical directors and medical superintendents, directing them to establish a committee led by the medical directors / medical superintendents and head of office as member secretary.

This committee, comprising of senior doctors and representatives from both the medical and nursing staff, has been tasked with developing a comprehensive security plan for every hospital in Delhi.

The plan should specifically address the safety of doctors working in casualty and emergency services, particularly from any threats posed by patients’ attendants or families.

“Sufficient number of high-resolution CCTV cameras to be installed at strategic locations including entrances, exits, corridors, dark spots and sensitive areas. A control room should be set up in the institute for quick response to an emergent situation. In the Control Room, one admin staff should always be stationed along with security persons,” the advisory read.

The notice also emphasised the importance of including Code Violet — which signifies an immediate threat or act of violence within the healthcare facility — within the security plan. It called for adequate preparation and training for all doctors and peripheral staff to handle such situations effectively.

Additionally, the notice instructed that the complete security plan must be shared with the Deputy Commissioner of Police in the respective district.

“Any medical directors/ medical superintendents and head of office of the hospitals who do not make police complaint under aegis of Section 6 of the Delhi Medicare Service Personnel and Medicare Service Institutions. (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act, 2008 within 6 hours of receiving complaints from the doctors must provide justification for their inaction to the Director General Health Services, Government of NCT of Delhi,” it added.

The advisory added ensuring adequate lighting and secure facilities, especially for female staff. Regular emergency drills, staff training, public address systems, and clear communication of legal consequences for violence are also essential. Additionally, hospitals should create a safety culture, establish a crisis intervention team, and engage in proactive threat management and regular safety discussions with staff.

For the eighth consecutive day, several Resident Doctors’ Associations (RDAs) across major hospitals in India continued their strike over the unresolved safety concerns for healthcare professionals and staff.

Exercise to train staff for maintaining safe environment

• It is an exercise to train the staff and medical personnel for maintaining a safe environment.
• The purpose of the Ccode Violet is to establish an effective response to incidents of violence and threats within the healthcare facility.
• The first step of Code Violet is to ensure all staff members can recognise and promptly respond to potential or actual violent.
• Examples of situations triggering code violet are - physical assaults between patients, staff, or visitors; threatening behavior with or without a weapon; verbal threats or severe intimidation directed towards staff or patients and uncontrolled, aggressive behavior that poses a danger.
• The second step involves coordinating a swift response by calling the designated emergency number and communicating clearly about the incident.
• The third step mentions safeguarding of individuals with evacuation, containment procedure for the staff; immediate intervention, response and coordination with the law enforcement by the security personnel; for the administration it is to monitor the situation from the central command centre.
• The fourth and the final stage deals with providing support, reviewing the incident and implementing preventive measures.