Doctors strike: After the rape and murder of a lady doctor at RG Medical College in Kolkata, doctors have demanded a new law for the safety of health workers. In response, the Health Ministry has said that a panel is being formed to consider effective security measures. The ministry has also approved a 25% increase in security deployment in central government hospitals and the deployment of marshals.
All 36 states and union territories already have laws in place to protect health workers in some form or the other, but despite this, incidents of violence are constantly occurring. The ministry says that bringing a new law for doctors will not solve this problem.
The panel will include members from the Ministry of Health, the National Medical Commission and various states. The panel will consider the demands of doctors and other measures for safety. Apart from this, the central government had also issued an ordinance for the safety of health workers during the epidemic, making violence a cognizable and non-bailable offence.
The ministry has appealed to the protesting doctors to return to work and said that it is necessary to involve the state governments in the issue.