All sensitive areas, including corridors and campus of medical colleges, should be monitored by CCTV: NMC

In the wake of the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee at R.G. Kar Medical College Hospital in Kolkata during duty hours, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued new advisories for all medical colleges and institutions to ensure a safe work place environment. This includes covering all sensitive areas with CCTV cameras for monitoring.

In the wake of the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee at R.G. Kar Medical College Hospital in Kolkata during duty hours, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued new advisories for all medical colleges and institutions to ensure a safe work place environment. This includes covering all sensitive areas with CCTV cameras for monitoring.

The NMC has also requested all medical colleges to develop a policy for safe work environment within the college and hospital campus for all the staff members, including faculty, medical students, and resident doctors.

The gruesome rape and murder of the doctor has sparked outrage across the country and the protest by doctors and medical students continue.

“In the policy of safe work environment should ensure an adequate safety measures at OPD, wards, casualty, hostels, and other open areas in the medical college campus and residential quarters. Corridors and campus should be well lit in the evening for staff to walk safely from one place to other and all sensitive areas be covered by CCTV for monitoring,” the advisory said.

“Adequate security measures, including posting of adequate security staff (male and female), should be made available at the OPD, wards, casualty, labour rooms, hostels, and residential quarters and other open areas in the medical college and hospital campus,” it stated.

“Any incident of violence against the medical students should be promptly investigated by the college management and an FIR should be lodged with the police. A detailed action taken report on any incident of violence should invariably be sent to the NMC within 48 hours of the incident,” it said.

The State government has welcomed the new advisories. Speaking to The Hindu, Sharan Prakash Patil, Minister of Medical Education, said: “Safety of doctors, staffs and students in the medical college and hospitals is very important. CCTV cameras are already installed in all the medical colleges. However, the government will take necessary steps to implement the advisories of NMC.”