New Delhi, Aug 28 (IANS): The Central government's meeting to discuss measures for ensuring the safety of healthcare workers across the country was underway in the national capital on Wednesday.
This meeting, conducted via video conferencing, is being chaired by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan and the Health Secretary Apurva Chandra.
Director Generals of Police and Health Secretaries of all states are attending the meeting.
This meeting follows the Supreme Court's decision to take immediate action after nationwide protests broke out to protest the rape and murder of a female doctor at R. G. Kar Hospital in Kolkata.
The Supreme Court took suo moto notice of the incident and formed a 10-member National Task Force (NTF) to address the issue.
The NTF held its first meeting on Tuesday, under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba.
During the meeting, the Health Ministry decided to create a portal called "Suggestion to NTF," where members can submit their suggestions regarding the safety of healthcare workers.
It was revealed that they had already received 300-400 suggestions privately before the meeting.
The discussion in the meeting covered various aspects of ensuring the safety of healthcare workers across the country.
Along with launching the portal, it was decided that the Health Secretary and other members would actively reach out to as many members as possible to gather further input.
Since law and order and health are primarily the responsibility of state governments, all states were asked to provide detailed information on the security measures they have implemented in medical institutions.
To facilitate this, a Google Sheet was shared with all states so that they could submit their information.
In Tuesday's NTF meeting, the members emphasised the need to collect as many suggestions as possible from across the country to take solid and permanent steps for the safety of healthcare workers.
They also stressed the importance of taking immediate security measures while working out a solution.