Bengaluru: As medical education minister, Sharan Prakash Patil set out to assess the safety and security of women health professionals at hospitals, in the aftermath of the Kolkata hospital incident, PG medical students and resident doctors poured out their complaints to the minister.
Participating in an interaction at Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) on Victoria Hospital premises on Tuesday, the PG students revealed that several blocks of the hospitals on the campus lacked proper rooms for women to rest for a while during the hectic work schedule. “Doctors have to visit multiple blocks including Victoria, Vani Vilas, Minto, Trauma and Emergency Care Centre (TECC), PMSSY. During these hours many of us walk around as there is no transport facility. Vehicles must be arranged along with security personnel,” demanded a few doctors.
A few even pointed out threats and abuse from patients’ families, following the death of their dear ones patients. A few other appealed to the minister to install more CCTV cameras for better surveillance. “As the campus is vast, there are several poorly lit areas and many of us dread walking through such spots on campus. The govt must install streetlights all around and the entire campus must be sufficiently lit during the night,” demanded yet another PG student.
Some doctors also urged the minister to deploy well-trained security personnel rather than deputing retired and aged at a few of the blocks. TOI had reported most of these problems after speaking to several PG students in the Aug 17 edition.
Reiterating that the state govt is committed to safeguarding medical professionals, especially women, by enhancing existing security measures, minister Sharan Prakash Patil said, “Based on the feedback, we will implement additional security measures, including more streetlights, CCTV cameras, and trained security personnel at all medical colleges, super-specialty hospitals, and hostels.”
The minister also set deadlines for the officials to resolve these issues and clarified that the existing POSH committee will supervise the implementation. While students were complaining about problems on the campus, the Victoria Hospital medical superintendent was missing during the interaction and officials said that he was on leave.
According to BMCRI officials, Victoria Hospital premises with all the super-specialty health care facilities witness more than 1,000 patients in a day. There are about 400 women health professionals comprising PG students and senior residents. This apart, the campus also has 550 undergraduate students, 198 teaching doctors, 400 non-teaching staff, another 700 outsourced staffers, and about 150 paramedical staffers.
