Bengal doctors seek dedicated hospital security force amid rising assaults

Kolkata: In the wake of repeated assaults on doctors and medical staff at state-run hospitals, the Association of Health Service Doctors, a leading doctors' body in West Bengal, has issued an appeal to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to create a dedicated ''hospital security force'' on the lines of the Railway Protection Force (RPF).

According to a communique from the association to the Chief Minister, all the medical establishments in the state, both in public and private sectors, would be under the jurisdiction of the dedicated cadre of “hospital security force”, reports IANS.

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At the same time, the association added, the existing police outposts in the hospitals should be reinforced with personnel from the state armed police force and not by contractual civic volunteers.

The association has further emphasised that the officers in charge of the security personnel at the hospital should make the rounds three times a day to ensure that the security arrangements at the medical establishments are in order.

Additionally, the association has proposed the formation of a three-member rapid response force in every district to address security issues at medical establishments in the state quickly.

As per their proposal, in case of any assault on doctors and medical staff of any hospital, the members of the rapid action force should visit the institution and meet the assaulted caregivers within 24 hours of the reported incident.

According to an IANS report, the letter from the association to the Chief Minister said, “The team, in robust liaison with the local administration, has to officially ensure that the immediate prescribed action takes place and also see that the local PS does not minimally deviate from their mandatory task in this regard”.

The other demands of the association include immediate filling up of vacancies of doctors and support staff at every tier, scientific review of the establishment's table (roster) to cope with the escalating loads of expanding services, and instruction of a smooth referral mechanism, among others.

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