Kerala approves ordinance to ensure safety of health staff
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Thiruvananthapuram: The Hospital Protection Act, the much delayed and keenly awaited law that takes care of all medical professionals against physical and verbal attacks, was cleared by the cabinet on Wednesday.
The ordinance was cleared during the weekly cabinet meeting of the Pinarayi Vijayan government held here and it will be sent to Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan.
This has been a long-standing demand of the Indian Medical Association. The entire medical fraternity has been up in arms since last week following the gruesome murder of Dr Vandana Das, a 22-year-old house surgeon who was attacked while she was attending to a patient, an alleged drug addict.
The brutal murder had shocked the state and an outraged medical fraternity demanded steps to ensure safety of health professionals, particularly those in the government sector.
From now on, those who indulge in physical attack on medical professionals, which include students and even security staff, while on duty, depending on the gravity of the crime, the accused will get a jail term from six months to even seven years.
In case of destruction of property in a medical institution, the accused will have to pay a fine extending up to six times the value of the property destroyed.
Veteran Congress leader V.M. Sudheeran welcomed the Ordinance. "For a while, things need to be observed on how they are and then a discussion can be held among the stakeholders to see if it needs to be fine-tuned further to make it a foolproof system."
