Take every measure to ensure doctors are safe

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Resident doctors of Maharashtra announced an indefinite strike from Tuesday to show solidarity with their colleagues who are protesting across the nation against the Kolkata doctor rape-murder case. The postgraduate female trainee was assaulted in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College. Emergency services will be provided though.

The protesters want the authorities to speed up the formation of an expert committee to implement the Central Healthcare Protection Act and improve security measures by installing fully functional CCTVs and deploying well-equipped guards to ensure the safety of healthcare workers. They are also demanding quality hostels and proper on-call rooms for resident doctors.

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According to a statement issued by the protesters, the decision to halt work was not easy but was necessary to ensure demands were met. All steps must be taken to ensure doctors' safety. Careful attention must be paid to basic on-ground measures. Deploy enough security personnel at hospitals. Unauthorised individuals should not be allowed on premises under any circumstances. There must be good, substantial lighting through corridors and outside all medical facilities.

Alarms on the premises may be a good idea, though all this needs to be thrashed out by expert committees. There are spots on sprawling hospital premises where at times, corners or corridors may seem inadequately lit. This is highly dangerous and is the number one aspect in fact, which must be addressed with will and alacrity.

All hostels must be clean, safe, bright and have good safety apparatus inside. Entrance and gates must be monitored at these residential facilities. Water and sanitation must be priorities. There must be no compromise on quality surveillance. Safety is the least we can give our medicos, who are battling to save lives every day.