New Delhi: In a bid to strengthen the existing law for the protection of healthcare workers, the Kerala government on Wednesday approved the ‘Healthcare Service Workers and Healthcare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Amendment Ordinance’.
The incident comes a week after Vandana Das, a medical intern on duty at Kollam’s Kottarakkara taluk hospital, was stabbed to death by a man she was treating.
According to media reports, the suspect has been identified as G. Sandeep, who stabbed Das in the chest and neck. He later died in a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram within hours of the attack.
According to reports, Sandeep was a suspended school teacher who was taken into police custody after a fight with his family. He was brought to the hospital in Kollam for medical examination.
Reena KJ, director of health services in Kerala, told ThePrint, “In the ordinance, the nature of punishment and the definition of violence have been strengthened and punishment has also been upgraded. “We hope that these changes will prevent crimes against healthcare workers in the future”.
As per the ordinance, the protection provided under the Kerala Healthcare Service Persons and Healthcare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act, 2012 will now be extended to paramedical students as well.
According to a statement issued by the state government, the ordinance will also cover paramedical staff, security guards, managerial staff, ambulance drivers and assistants currently posted and working in health institutions. In addition, health workers as notified in the Official Government Gazette from time to time will also be covered under the Ordinance.
The ordinance states that any health worker or professional found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm will be punished with imprisonment of 1 year to 7 years and fine between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakh.
It also states that whoever “commits or attempts to commit or abets or instigates an act of violence against health workers or those working in health institutions”, shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than 6 months and 5 shall be punished with imprisonment of up to one year. And a fine between Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh will also be imposed.
The state government’s move comes amid demands by doctors across the country to bring a central law to protect doctors.
“The central law gets incorporated in CrPC (Criminal Procedure Code) which makes its implementation more effective. Even though 23 states have state laws, it is proving ineffective,” Dr Ravi Wankhedkar, a senior member of the Indian Medical Association, told ThePrint.
“Of course, law alone will not completely stop the violence. Preventive measures are equally important and ethical behavior and blatant privatization of medical education and privatization of healthcare are also important factors,” he said, adding insurance-based models of healthcare delivery systems are fast eroding the sacred doctor-patient relationship .
(Editing by Zinnia Ray Chowdhury)
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