SUBHASH MISHRA
Ranchi, Sept 19: The Jharkhand government has established four-tier committees at the state, district, medical college, and CHC levels to ensure the safety of doctors.
According to a notification issued by the Joint Secretary of the government, Lalit Mohan Shukla, the state-level committee will be headed by the Additional Chief Secretary or Principal Secretary of the Health Department.
The committees at medical college, district, and CHC levels will be chaired by the Principal, Civil Surgeon, and Medical Officer in charge, respectively.
This decision follows the Supreme Court’s August 28 directive to both central and state governments to form safety committees for the protection of doctors, after the incident at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College.
State-level committee
At the state level, the committee will be led by the Principal Secretary of Health, with the Principal Secretary of Home, Jail, and Disaster Management Departments serving as vice president.
Senior officers, including the DGP/Additional DGP/IG level officer and the Principal Secretary of the Building Construction Department, will be members. The Director-in-Chief of Health Services will act as the committee’s member secretary.
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Medical college-level committee
In medical colleges, the principal will serve as the committee chairperson, while the Superintendent will be the member secretary.
Additional members will include representatives nominated by the Deputy Commissioner (DC) and the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP).
District-level committee
At the district level, the Civil Surgeon will chair the committee, and the Deputy Superintendent will be the member secretary. The DC and SSP will each nominate two members.
CHC-level committee
At the CHC level, the Medical Officer in charge will head the committee, with the Circle Officer (CO) and the police station officer in charge serving as members.
Committees are an eyewash: IMA
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has criticised these committees, calling them eyewash and superficial measures to divert attention from the real issue.
IMA State Secretary Dr Pradeep Kumar Singh remarked that if the government were serious about doctors’ safety, it would have implemented the guidelines issued by the central government.
He also highlighted that important matters like the Medical Protection Act and the Clinical Establishment Act remain unresolved, leading the IMA to doubt the effectiveness of these committees.
“The state government has constituted many committees but issues like the Medical Protection Act, and Clinical Establishment Act are still pending. So, IMA has no hope of safety from this committee,” said Dr Singh.
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JHSA, JDN and JDA support the move
On the other hand, the Jharkhand Health Service Association (JHSA) Secretary, Dr Thakur Mritunjay Kumar Singh, Junior Doctors Network (JDN) Secretary, Dr Raghvendra Rathore, and Junior Doctors Association (JDA) President, Dr Ankit Kumar, have welcomed the government’s move.
However, JDA President Dr Ankit Kumar also acknowledged concerns, stating, “We appreciate the effort, but it seems like a way to deflect from the issue since no action has been taken against those responsible.”
Resident Doctors Association (RDA) Media Secretary at the Central Institute of Psychiatry (CIP), Ranchi, Dr Avinash Vipin, said that the RDA would comment after reviewing the full notification.
