{"id":28073,"date":"2024-08-21T18:15:04","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T12:45:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=28073"},"modified":"2024-08-27T12:36:59","modified_gmt":"2024-08-27T07:06:59","slug":"supreme-court-forms-task-force-to-protect-doctors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/21-08-2024\/supreme-court-forms-task-force-to-protect-doctors","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court Forms Task Force to Protect Doctors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/ Polity and Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/supreme-court\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/supreme-court\/\"><strong>Supreme Court<\/strong><\/a> constituted a <strong>National Task Force (NTF)<\/strong> of senior medical professionals to formulate comprehensive safety protocols for healthcare workers across India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About National Task Force (NTF)&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The NTF has been tasked with the critical responsibility of <strong>devising an action plan to ensure the safety and well-being of medical professionals<\/strong>, with a particular focus on preventing gender-based violence and creating dignified working conditions for interns, resident doctors, and non-resident doctors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The action plan will address several key areas, including:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Enhancing <strong>security in emergency rooms<\/strong> and other critical areas;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Providing <strong>restrooms and gender-neutral spaces<\/strong> for medical staff;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Introducing <strong>biometric and facial recognition<\/strong> systems, Improving <strong>lighting and installing CCTV <\/strong>in all hospital areas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Performing quarterly <strong>audits of institutional safety measures;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Applying the <strong>Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH)<\/strong> Act to medical establishments, ensuring the constitution of an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges Faced by the Healthcare Workers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Workload and Burnout:<\/strong> High patient-to-staff ratios result in overwhelming workloads. Healthcare workers experience burnout due to long hours, high stress, and insufficient time to rest.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Violence and Abuse: <\/strong>Instances of violence against healthcare workers, including verbal abuse and physical attacks, have been reported in several instances.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inadequate Compensation:<\/strong> Salaries for healthcare workers, particularly those in the public sector or rural areas, are relatively low compared to the cost of living and the demands of the job.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Infrastructure Issues: <\/strong>Poor infrastructure in healthcare facilities such as lack of proper sanitation, unreliable electricity, and inadequate medical waste management compromise patient care and worker safety.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Health and Safety Risks:<\/strong> Healthcare workers face health and safety risks, including exposure to infectious diseases, particularly in under-resourced settings where personal protective equipment (PPE) and infection control measures are inadequate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Present Scenario of Legal Protection to Healthcare Professionals<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Currently <strong>no central law exists<\/strong> to safeguard healthcare workers nationwide.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As of <strong>2020,<\/strong><strong>19 States<\/strong> had implemented their statutes, each with varying provisions. Other States and Union Territories had no laws at all.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This lack of uniformity meant protection is inconsistent.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Among States, <strong>Kerala and Karnataka<\/strong> provide their healthcare workers with the most robust legal protections in India.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges in Enacting a Central Law<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A central law has not been enacted because public <strong>health is a State subject<\/strong>, and VAHCW is primarily a public health-related issue.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>While the <strong>concurrent list<\/strong> allows for a central law, the central government has not prioritized this issue, leaving it to the States to manage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Incident Reporting:<\/strong> Develop a robust mechanism for reporting incidents of violence that ensures confidentiality and protection for those who report.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Workplace Safety Policies: <\/strong>Develop and enforce comprehensive workplace safety policies and procedures to prevent and respond to violence against healthcare workers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/sc-constitutes-10-member-task-force-to-formulate-protocol-for-ensuring-safety-of-doctors\/article68546044.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Supreme Court constituted a National Task Force (NTF) of senior medical professionals to formulate comprehensive safety protocols for healthcare workers across India.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[30],"class_list":["post-28073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs","tag-gs-2"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28073"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28310,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28073\/revisions\/28310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}