Night shift even at hospitals is terrifying, say Mumbai doctors

Candlelight vigil at KEM hospital on Sunday

Doctors at medical college hospitals across the city are voicing concern about campus security following the rape and murder of a doctor at a Kolkata hospital last Friday. The incident has spread a sense of fear among resident doctors, particularly those on night duty, leading to urgent demands for improved safety measures. "Hospital authorities must ensure that all security cameras are operational and streetlights are functioning," said Dr Trisha Shrivastava, an OBGYN resident. "At JJ Hospital, a 200-metre walk from Hostel No 300 to the Balaram building is pitch dark at night. I've done night shifts there, and even that brief walk has been terrifying."

KEM Hospital has experienced the dangers first-hand. A super-speciality resident was harassed while navigating a similarly short but poorly lit stretch from the UG-PG hostel to the new building housing the OBGYN department. "After the incident, we made sure by constantly following up with the authorities that certain spots that become dark late at night are properly lit," said Dr Vrushali Navale, a pharma resident at KEM. "But the sad part is that even after implementing these measures, there are people who lack fear of the law. We need a central law that protects all doctors from violence with stricter punishments. The existing law only applies in epidemic situations."

Doctors during a vigil at KEM hospital

Dr Bakul Naik recounted a similar incident at Sion hospital: "A few months ago, a resident doctor was beaten up while walking in a dimly lit area within the campus." Beyond the need for better lighting, doctors are also advocating for dedicated cabins in hospitals for resident doctors. "These on-call rooms should be available exclusively for resident doctors while on duty, but not every hospital has them," said Dr Anvita from Nair hospital.

Discussions are underway between doctors and their college administrations to strengthen security measures. "We will be conducting a thorough check of campuses under JJ hospital to identify spots that seem unsafe for doctors. Even the recent incident at St George's Hospital is a security lapse. The mob came to attack resident doctors, and they had to be locked up for their safety," said Dr Aditi Kanade, general secretary of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors.
While JJ hospital officials remained unavailable for a comment, BMC Additional Commissioner (health) Abhijit Bangar said, "There are certain demands raised with regards to security in the hospital, we are taking it seriously and have asked deans to hold meetings to understand their concerns. We can have them resolved through our engineering department."

Friday
Day Kolkata incident occurred

Maharashtra resident doctors' group announces strike from Tuesday

Resident doctors of Maharashtra announced an indefinite strike from Tuesday to show solidarity with their colleagues who are protesting across the nation against the rape-murder of a postgraduate trainee in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College.

The body of the woman postgraduate trainee was found in a seminar hall at the hospital on Friday morning, and a civic volunteer was arrested on Saturday in connection with the crime, as per West Bengal police.

"All elective services in hospitals across Maharashtra will be halted starting Tuesday. All emergency services will be continued as usual," the Central MARD (Maharashtra State Association of Resident Doctors) said in a statement issued on Monday.

"In solidarity with our colleagues, we support the nationwide halting of elective services which will include OPDs, elective OTs, ward duties, lab services and academic duties starting from Tuesday," said the Central MARD statement, which sought an impartial and transparent investigation in the Kolkata incident.
The statement said authorities must speed up the formation of an expert committee for implementation of the Central Healthcare Protection Act, improve security measures, including deployment of fully functional CCTVs and well-equipped guards for better safety of healthcare workers, apart from providing quality hostels and proper on-call rooms for resident doctors.

The statement said the decision (to halt work) was not easy but was necessary to ensure demands were met and also urged local MARD units in Maharashtra to join the stir.