Junior doctors meet women’s panel chief

Hyderabad: The Telangana Junior Doctors’ Association (T-JUDA), along with female representatives from Gandhi, Osmania, NIMS, ESIC, and Osmania Dental College, have met State Women’s Commission chairperson N Sharadha and represented problems faced by resident doctors and medicos at their workplace.

The doctors mainly discussed security concerns. They said the chairperson had responded positively and promised to convey them to the State government and try to resolve all issues.

The doctors wanted to ensure safe working conditions for women healthcare professionals in government hospitals, medical colleges, hostels, and other establishments. They sought designated resting rooms with toilets and drinking water facilities for women; female and male police constables should be on duty during night hours; there should be comprehensive CCTV coverage and continuous monitoring all over the campus round the clock. Doctors said a special mobile app with an alarm feature should be developed and made mandatory for all working women. The app should be connected to local police stations or control rooms; security checks, including breathalyser tests, should be conducted at medical institutions (medical colleges, super speciality hospitals, district hospitals, CHCs, and PHCs) by State-funded police or Centrally funded CRPF/CISF with no outsourcing personnel.

They wanted clear accountability for any incidents occurring at the workplace, holding the Health Minister or Health Secretary responsible, and all organisations to establish committees to address any form of abuse or harassment at the workplace. A district-wide sensitisation programme on safety issues will be conducted across all government establishments, with private organisations encouraged to participate, implement an access control system to screen all attendants entering hospitals.

A deadline should be set for the committee's work, with participation from JUDA; judicial magistrates will conduct unannounced field visits to assess conditions; and organisations will be encouraged to create schedules that ensure women work in pairs or teams, with awareness of each other's movements during nights.