Ratri Sathi app, breathalyzers at gates to make hosps safer
Times of India | 18 August 2024
Kolkata: The state govt on Saturday announced a slew of safety measures for female doctors working in hospitals. Among the steps announced on Saturday are creating safe zones for women and separate rest areas with toilets, regulating duty hours, ensuring presence of women security personnel or volunteers and launching a mobile app called ‘Ratri Sathi’, which will help women in distress make a direct SOS call to the nearest police station.
The measures were announced by the CM’s chief advisor Alapan Bandyopadhyay after Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with chief secretary, home secretary and DGP on how to make working environment safe for female doctors following the rape and murder of the PGT doctor at RG Kar Medical College & Hospital.
Bandyopadhyay said the measures would be notified by the state govt soon and will be implemented at the earliest. “The govt’s endeavour is to provide safe working conditions for women on night shifts in all state hospitals, medical colleges, hostels and other places,” he said.
To ensure that drunk people don’t enter these campuses, breath analyser tests will be carried out at entry gates. Also, wearing ID cards has been made mandatory for all staffers and faculty members to help cops identify outsiders and restrict them from accessing zones meant only for doctors and patients.
Bandyopadhyay said safe zones with CCTV coverage will be created for women. While female doctors will be spared from night shifts as much as possible, the govt has proposed duty for female doctors in pairs so that they feel safe in each other’s company.
“Working hours for women doctors should not exceed 12 hours and night duty should be avoided as much as possible,” said Bandyopadhyay. He added that a special mobile app with alarm devices would be developed. The facility would be linked to local police stations. He also stressed on the need to popularize helplines like 100 and 112 so that women can dial them in an emergency.
The state will encourage all departments to set up Visakha committees following the SC guidelines for sexual assault-related complaints. Even private organizations will be asked to follow norms related to women safety.