Principals of government medical colleges put in charge of safety changes in institutions

CM say, state government has sanctioned Rs 100 crore to set up additional washrooms, rest rooms, lights, CCTVs and drinking water

Calcutta, September 27, dmanewsdesk: Principals of government medical colleges have been entrusted with the responsibility of setting up new infrastructure and implementing security systems instead of the public works department, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday after a meeting with health officials at Nabanna.

Mamata said the state government has sanctioned ₹100 crore to set up additional washrooms, rest rooms, lights, CCTVs and drinking water. If principals take up the responsibility of creating this infrastructure, the work will be accelerated, she said.

Implementation of safety measures like installation of CCTVs or creating separate rest rooms for male and female doctors is one of the demands of junior doctors, who went on a 42-day cease-work following the rape and murder of their 31-year-old colleague at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.

The junior doctors’ front also wrote to the chief secretary on Thursday morning, hours before Mamata’s meeting with medical college heads, alleging that no action had been taken on some of the demands they raised in a meeting with Pant on September 18.

A junior doctor at RG Kar said installation of CCTVs had started but the junior doctors did not see any work to create additional washrooms or duty rooms in the hospital. When asked about this letter, Mamata said: “Let them write, they are young.”

“We have kept ₹100 crore for setting up additional washrooms, CCTVs, lights, purified water and rest rooms. I have asked principals to take responsibility (for the work) instead of leaving it to the PWD. The chief secretary and health secretary will devise a mechanism so the work is accelerated. If the job is left to one person, the person will have other work and it will take time,” Mamata said at a news conference after the meeting.

“Some of the work has been done,” she said.

After the meeting, a principal said the chief minister asked them to supervise the work and ensure they were done quickly. “She told us to ensure that the work is completed as early as possible,” said the principal.

Speeding up the work will mean decentralising the assignments so they are taken up by individual hospitals and completed faster, said a senior state government official.

At the news conference, Mamata also said biometric attendance would be started in hospitals.

“We have requested principals to start the biometric system. A lot of people come from outside to provide security, for cleaning. Their details are not with them (the hospitals). They have been asked to check this. Many people work in the new constructions underway inside the hospitals. Details of these people, their photographs, addresses, biometric cards should be kept,” she said.

Out of 33 medical colleges, officials from 20-22 medical colleges spoke, Mamata said.

Principals and directors of medical colleges were present in person at the meeting. The medical superintendents of the hospitals were present through video conferencing, so were the district magistrates, superintendents of police and chief medical officers of health in the districts.

At the news conference, Mamata also announced that the government will recruit 12,000 police personnel. She said that the hospital authorities were asked to keep a watch on the security in hostels, girls’ hostels and to set up an app or alarm system that can be used in case of any trouble.

“If you tell me to give today, I cannot. We are distributing from the strength we have. We will do a security audit. We will recruit 12,000 police personnel. The order will be issued possibly on Monday,” she said.

The police personnel will join duty while undergoing training, she said.

Former Kolkata Police commissioner and state director general of police Surajit Kar Purkayastha will supervise the security audit of hospitals, the chief minister said.

The junior doctors, who have joined “essential services” duties from September 22, met the chief minister with five demands on September 16.

One of the demands was the safety and security of doctors and other healthcare workers in hospitals. They met Pant on September 18 and iterated the demands of safety and security in hospitals.

In Thursday’s letter to Pant, the doctors said “no action has been taken /no order has been passed in regard to some of the important demands placed and agreed by both parties”.

“Though some of the deliberations and demands put forward by us have been met, but many of our crucial demands are simply not responded (to)till now,” it said.

Source: The Telegraph online