Security at Kolkata government hospitals remain bleak even as Central forces take over at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital

Two companies of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) have taken control of security at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital (RGKMCH), but a visit to at least two other State-run top government hospitals reveals gaps in security, with the State government’s new initiative for safety of women in the workplace after the brutal rape and murder of a doctor on duty on August 9, yet to come into force.

Students pointed out a lack of CCTV cameras, inadequate security arrangements, and unsafe working conditions after dark. Medical College, Kolkata (MCK) in the heart of the city is the central node of government medical facilities in West Bengal. From heavy patient load to handling critical cases, it is one of the busiest government hospitals, but the security system is as inadequate as it was before the RGKMCH violence in the wee hours of August 15. The hospital has six gates, and Kolkata Police has increased police deployment in only gate number two (main gate), the rest remain as unprotected as before.

A first-year PGT doctor in the ENT department said she has not seen much change in the number of security guards in the buildings or wards. Talking to The Hindu, the doctor said: “When we are alone during night duties, there is not much security. There is only one guard at the front entrance, he is asleep most of the time. In case of any altercation with agitated patient parties, we are usually left to our own devices.”

As a resident doctor who must handle many night duties all alone in her department, like many other female doctors in the hospital, she said, “ENT, my department, is in an old heritage building, so there is no lift or ramp here. In the middle of the night, in case of emergencies or to attend to critical patients, we must come down and step outside the building in the dark and cater to them.” In such situations, if the patient parties become violent, the first thought that crosses their mind is, “We are doomed.”

Trying to cope with these circumstances, resident doctors have come up with their own ingenious ideas. For instance, if a patient is accompanied by a huge mob, especially at night, they try to deflect the crowd, so they can carry out their medical duties in peace and not be constantly worried about violence breaking out.

Security in the hostels is also in dire straits with no CCTV cameras in corridors or not much verification of people entering the premises. A second-year PGT doctor who resides in the in-campus hostel told The Hindu, “Hostel security was always in a bad shape, but we normalised it. Now, we are scared and traumatised after the R.G. Kar incident.”

In the meantime, RGKMCH doctors who welcomed the CAPF deployment on their campus, said, “We also have to address how the deployment will be implemented and what it would mean for doctors at the hospital and what security measures are being taken at other hospitals as this is concern for all staff at all government hospitals.”

Safety concerns continue

A similar picture was painted by a female MBBS student of the Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital (NRSMCH) in Kolkata. She told The Hindu, “There are no CCTV cameras inside the hostels. There are only one or two guards who are asleep at night. There is no effective change that we can see on the ground.”

A female MBBS graduate, who passed out of NRSMCH this year, recalled the lack of resting spaces in the hospital, compelling female doctors and interns on duty to rest in very precarious places. “When we were on night duty in certain departments, we were compelled to share small beds with male PGTs. That was extremely uncomfortable,” she said. 

She added that in certain other postings like pediatric surgery, staff on night duty would fall asleep completely alone on the benches in the emergency room, which was accessible to any outsider coming to the hospital. “We always considered these experiences as part and parcel of being a doctor. We never thought something so heinous could happen to one of us on duty,” she said. 

According to Dr. Saroj Patra, a current intern at NRSMCH, hospital authorities have accepted their demands for more CCTV cameras and security personnel, but they don’t know how long it would take for these measures to be implemented.

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A female junior doctor of the cardiology department at the Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research (aka SSKM Hospital) in south Kolkata told The Hindu that the hospital has always had a higher deployment of security personnel as it was the hospital of choice for local politicians. 

“But that is not enough to ensure the safety of the doctors. Just a few days back, family members of a deceased patient vandalised the trauma care centre of the hospital and assaulted a junior doctor,” she said, expressing her dismay that instances of violence continued amidst nationwide protests demanding safety for healthcare workers.

She also recalled numerous first-hand experiences of mob violence by aggrieved kin in the cardiology department, especially when patients were brought dead. “One or two security personnel who work in the departments and emergency wards are not enough to tackle such mobs,” she said. “Besides, how can we trust even our police when we saw them run away and take cover during the mob attack at RGKMCH premises on August 15?”

According to a female junior doctor residing in the SSKM PGT hostel for two years, trespassers bypassing security and entering the hostel are far too common. Trespassers have been caught multiple times on hostel premises at different hours of the day, even in the presence of boarders and guards.

The doctor pointed out that the hostels are manned by just one security guard, some of whom are old and infirm. “They fall asleep at night when we go in and out of hostels at odd hours during night duty. With so many outsiders freely loitering around our hostel buildings, we simply do not feel safe,” the hostel boarder said. 

She told The Hindu that boarders have demanded male and female hostel wardens and two security guards who would reside in the hostel round-the-clock. “The administration welcomed these suggestions but we do not how long we have to wait before these demands are implemented. Since the mob attack on RGKMCH, we haven’t felt safe even for a moment,” she said.

Government takes steps

The West Bengal government announced a flagship programme to ensure the safety of female doctors in medical colleges. “Rattirer Shaathi (friends of the night)” stated that “security checks and breath analyser tests will be carried out at medical colleges and hospitals. Night police patrolling will be carried out. There would be separate designated restrooms with toilets for women.”

No implementation of these rules has been seen on the ground even as the doctors’ protest completed its second week.

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