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New Delhi: Doctors protest against the sexual assault and killing of a postgraduate trainee doctor in Kolkata, in New Delhi, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. (Photo: PTI)
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, on Wednesday appealed to striking resident doctors to return to duty, stating that a collaborative internal security audit would be conducted to assess safety and security measures within the campus.
AIIMS’s appeal comes amid nationwide protests by resident doctors over the rape and murder of a 31-year-old resident doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The protests at AIIMS started on August 11, halting all outpatient department (OPD) and non-urgent elective services.
The protesting doctors also demanded a central protection act for healthcare workers, along with a proper investigation into the Kolkata rape-murder.
Voicing the administration’s support for the situation in an appeal document, Dr M Srinivas, director, AIIMS New Delhi, said that the entire AIIMS family stands behind the cause of safety for all healthcare professionals at the premier hospital and across the country.
“However, as doctors, our supreme duty is also to ensure that patients visiting our portals do not go unattended,” he added.
The institute added that the administration has constituted two committees to look into safety issues at the institute and other concerns of the doctors. The first committee will be chaired by the dean (academics) of AIIMS and will look into the immediate concerns of healthcare professionals.
A 15-member second committee will undertake internal security audits at AIIMS and its outreach campuses with regard to the safety and security of healthcare professionals, staff, patients, and visitors.
The committee will be headed by Dr Puneet Kaur, head, department of biophysics. It will have representation from the Faculty Association of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (FAIIMS), AIIMS’s Resident Doctors Association (RDA), the students’ union, nurses’ union, karamchari union, and the Society of Young Scientists, among others.
The committee will visit all areas of the AIIMS campus, including its outreach campuses like the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Jhajjar, the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC), Ghaziabad, and the Comprehensive Rural Health Services Project (CRHSP), Ballabgarh, to survey the security measures therein.
“The committee is requested to deliberate in detail regarding any additional safety and security measures required in the AIIMS campuses and submit its recommendations to the undersigned at the earliest for speedy implementation,” AIIMS’s letter stated.
Besides the security audit, the AIIMS administration has also decided to install AI-enabled CCTV cameras at key entry and exit points of its mother and child block on a pilot basis.
“Such cameras shall be able to recognise all visitors with facial recognition technology and shall help security staff to identify persons entering and exiting frequently, thereby helping them in controlling access for unauthorised personnel,” an order by the institute stated.
Other steps being considered by AIIMS include special measures against the fleecing of patients by unauthorised individuals and controlled and verified access for people on the campus.
First Published: Aug 21 2024 | 6:40 PM IST
