The Central government has constituted a National Task Force (NTF) headed by the Union Cabinet Secretary to recommend measures needed to strengthen the safety, well-being and working conditions of medical professionals in the country. The 14-member committee will submit its interim report within three weeks and the final report within two months in compliance with a Supreme Court directive on August 20.

According to a notice issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the members of NTF will include the Home Secretary of India, the chairperson of the National Medical Commission and the president of the National Board of Examinations, among others. The Union Health Secretary is the member secretary of the task force.

Doctors and medical students, who are undergoing their compulsory rotating medical internship (CRMI) as a part of the MBBS course, resident doctors and senior resident doctors and nurses (including those who are nursing interns) will be covered under the broad definition of ‘medical professionals’.

The terms of reference of NTF call for the preparation of an action plan for the prevention of violence against medical professionals. It also seeks to provide safe working conditions and develop an enforceable national protocol for dignified and safe working conditions for them.

As part of strengthening the infrastructure, NTF will explore the possibilities of recommending appropriate technological intervention to regulate access to critical and sensitive areas including through the use of biometric and facial recognition. Additional requirements on institutional safety measures for medical professionals as criteria for accreditation of healthcare establishments by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers will be looked into.

NTF will also suggest the timelines for the implementation of its recommendations.

Surgeon Vice Admiral Arti Sarin, AVSM, VSM, Director General Medical Services (Navy), Dr. D Nageshwar Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, Asian Institute of Gastroenterology and AIG Hospitals, Hyderabad, Dr. M. Srinivas, Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, (AIIMS), Delhi, Dr. Pratima Murthy, Director, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, Dr. Goverdhan Dutt Puri, Executive Director, AIIMS, Jodhpur, Dr. Saumitra Rawat, Member, Board of Management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, Professor Anita Saxena, Vice-Chancellor, Pandit B D Sharma Medical University, Rohtak, Dr. Pallavi Saple, Dean, Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals, Mumbai and Dr. Padma Srivastava, Chairperson of Neurology at Paras Health Gurugram are the other members of the task force.

MBBS doctors protest

National Task Force on workplace safety for medical professionals