Context
Recently the Supreme Court constituted a National Task Force (NTF) of senior medical professionals to formulate comprehensive safety protocols for healthcare workers across India.
About
- The NTF has been tasked with the essential obligation of devising an action plan to make certain the safety and well-being of medical professionals, with a specific attention on preventing gender based violence and creating dignified working conditions for interns, resident doctors, and non-resident medical doctors.
- The action plan will deal with numerous key areas, which include:
- Enhancing safety in emergency rooms and different crucial regions;
- Providing restrooms and gender-impartial spaces for medical body of workers;
- Introducing biometric and facial identification, Improving lights and putting in CCTV in all sanatorium regions.
- Performing quarterly audits of institutional safety measures;
- Applying the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act to medical institutions, ensuring the constitution of an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC).
Challenges faced by the healthcare workers
- Workload and Burnout: High patient-to-staff ratios result in high workloads. Healthcare people enjoy burnout because of long hours, excessive pressure, and inadequate time to rest.
- Violence and Abuse: Instances of violence towards healthcare people, inclusive of verbal abuse and physical attacks, have been mentioned several times.
- Inadequate Compensation: Salaries for healthcare workers, especially the ones within the public sector or rural regions, are notably low as compared to the cost of residing and the demands of the job.
- Infrastructure Issues: Poor infrastructure in healthcare facilities which include lack of right sanitation, unreliable power, and inadequate medical waste control compromise patient care and worker safety.
- Health and Safety Risks: Healthcare workers face health and safety dangers, along with publicity to infectious diseases, specifically in under-resourced environments where infection control measures are inadequate.
Present Scenario of Legal Protection to Healthcare Professionals
- Currently no imperative law exists to protect healthcare people nationwide.
- As of 2020,19 States had carried out their statutes, each with varying provisions. Other States and Union Territories had no legal guidelines in any respect.
- This loss of uniformity intended for safety is inconsistent.
- Among States, Kerala and Karnataka offer their healthcare workers with the most strong criminal protections in India.
Challenges in enacting a Central law
- A central regulation has now not been enacted due to the fact public health is a State issue, and VAHCW is usually a public health-associated issue.
- While the concurrent listing permits for a relevant law, the significant government has not prioritized this issue, leaving it to the States to control.
Way Ahead
- Incident Reporting: Develop a robust mechanism for reporting incidents of violence that ensures confidentiality and protection for people who report.
- Workplace Safety Policies: Develop and enforce comprehensive workplace protection regulations and procedures to save you and reply to violence in opposition to healthcare workers.
Source: The Hindu