Kolkata rape-murder case: What is Central Protection Act for Doctors? Why are protestors demanding it?
Doctors across multiple hospitals are demanding for the Central Protection Act for Doctors to be implemented on a nationwide scale.
The horrific rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor in Kolkata sparked nationwide outrage and protests by medical practitioners and students, demanding a transparent investigation and improved safety norms for doctors on call at hospitals. The incident at the RG Kar Medical College also brought attention to the violence and harassment that doctors are exposed to in the overburdened healthcare system.
Amid protests and calls for better safety measures at hospitals, doctors are demanding a central law to be put in place for the protection of medical workers. The Indian Medical Association (IMA), in its recent letter to the health ministry, said that while all 25 states have laws in place for the protection of doctors, the implementation is inefficient.
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Many protesting doctors have also demanded the implementation of the Central Protection Act for Doctors to make sure that there is ample security and safety for healthcare workers at hospitals.
What is the Central Protection Act for Doctors?
The ‘Prevention of Violence Against Healthcare Professionals and Clinical Establishments Bill, 2022’, also called the “Central Protection Act for Doctors”, was initially introduced in the Lok Sabha two years ago. The bill was aimed at defining acts of violence against doctors and establishing a punishment for such acts.
The provisions of the bill include defining the acts of violence, prohibiting violence, establishing congnizability and punishment, mandatory reporting of such acts, public sensitisation, and a grievance redressal mechanism.
Read more: Kolkata doctor-rape murder: Family narrates August 9 ‘gut-wrenching’ details; politicians react
The healthcare personnel who are to be covered under this proposed bill will be registered medical practitioners, mental health practitioners, dental practitioners, nursing professionals, medical and nursing students, allied health professionals and support staff in hospitals.
While the bill was introduced in the Parliament in 2022, then-health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the government decided not to pursue it since most of its objectives were covered in the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance 2020.
On August 9, a post-graduate doctor was found dead inside the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, with injuries and post-mortem reports showing that she was raped. The incident sparked widespread outrage and led to protests within and beyond the medical community.