Avoid allotting night duties to women doctors, says Bengal govt

Kolkata, Aug 17 (IANS) The West Bengal government has advised the medical colleges and hospitals in the state to avoid allotting night duties to women doctors.

“All attempts will be made to avoid allotting night duties to women doctors as far as possible,” said Chief Minister’s Principal Advisor Alapan Bandopadhyay while announcing a new initiative christened “Ratiirer Sathi” (night companion) for ensuring the safety of the women doctors.Bandopadhyay said that women-friendly security personnel will be deployed at all medical colleges and hospitals.“There will be separate toilets and restrooms for the women doctors. Safe zones will be created for them which will be under blanket CCTV coverage. A special app will be created through which the doctors will be connected to the local police stations. It will be compulsory for all women hospital doctors to download the app,” Bandopadhyay said.He added that arrangements will be made for regular night patrolling by the local police at the medical colleges and hospitals.“Shifts will be arranged in such a manner that in case of night duties the women doctors can function in pairs,” said Bandopadhyay.He said that the state government has also requested the private medical entities to follow these guidelines.“This system will be followed in Kolkata as well as in the districts. In case of the deployment of security personnel, the administration will be careful that a balanced male-to-female ratio is maintained,” he added.On August 9, a female doctor in the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital was found dead under mysterious circumstances on the premises.She was a second-year postgraduate medical student at the hospital and was also working as a house staff with the chest medicine division.The body was discovered by the hospital staff on the fourth floor of the emergency building of the hospital at around noon.The brutal rape and murder of the female doctor have sent shockwaves across the country and pitched different political parties against each. The doctors across the country are observing a strike and demanding capital punishment for the accused.–IANSsrc/dan