A survey conducted by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has revealed a shocking fact that doctors across the country, especially women doctors, feel extremely unsafe while on night duty. 3,885 doctors from over 22 states participated in the survey, 85 per cent of whom were below the age of 35. Of these, 61 per cent were medical interns or postgraduate students. In some MBBS courses, there were 63 per cent women, which was correct as per the gender ratio.
Serious concern over women’s safety
The survey was conducted to understand the security concerns of doctors after the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata. The survey results show that nearly a third of doctors feel unsafe (24.1 per cent) or very unsafe (11.4 per cent). The feeling of insecurity is particularly prevalent among women. Doctors in their 20s and 30s, who are mostly interns and postgraduate students, are most likely to be insecure. The situation is such that some doctors even feel the need to keep weapons for their safety.
Shortage and poor condition of the guard room
The survey also revealed that 45 percent of doctors do not have on-call rooms. Even those that do tend to be overcrowded, lack privacy and suffer from security issues. Some on-call rooms do not even have toilets, forcing doctors to go out at night, posing a threat to their safety.
Doctors’ Safety Tips
Doctors made some suggestions regarding their safety, such as deploying more trained security guards in hospitals, installing CCTV cameras, improving lighting and providing secure on-call rooms.
administrative negligence
The investigation also found that the administration does not take doctors’ safety concerns seriously. The administration often claims that senior doctors also work under similar conditions, causing the problems of junior doctors to be ignored.
Requirement for a security law
Doctors have demanded that security measures like airports be taken in hospitals across the country and a central security law be implemented, so that doctors’ workplaces are safe and they can take better care of patients. IMA said the results of this survey could lead to major policy changes, and the government is already thinking about these issues after the Kolkata incident.
Full body check: Is a full body check useless, report reveals
Discover the health tools below-
Calculate your body mass index (BMI)
