Exactly a week after the murder of house surgeon Vandana Das, the State Cabinet on Wednesday approved the ordinance, amending the Kerala Healthcare Service Persons and Healthcare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act, 2012, by including stringent penal provisions against the perpetrators of violence against hospitals and expanding the scope of the definition of healthcare workers.
The ordinance will be sent to Governor Arif Mohammed Khan for his approval and promulgation as law.
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Stringent punishment for offenders
Section 4 of the Act, which deals with penalty for perpetrating violence against hospitals and healthcare workers has been amended so that offenders who attempt to commit violence or persuade another to commit violence against hospitals and healthcare staff will be punishable with imprisonment not less than six months to a maximum of five years and fine not less than ₹50,000 to a maximum of ₹2 lakhs
Any offender who commits serious physical violence against a healthcare worker will be punishable with imprisonment not less than an year, up to a maximum of seven years and a minimum fine not less than ₹1 lakh up to a maximum of ₹5 lakhs.
The original Act “loosely” stated that offenders will be “punishable with imprisonment for a period which may extend to three years and with fine which may extend to Rs. 50,000”.
Time frame for investigation
The amendment also fulfills the most important and vociferous demand of the medical fraternity that a definite time frame be fixed for the completion of the investigation of cases registered under the Act and the sentencing of the accused.
Doctors had contended that police inaction was making a mockery of the Hospital Protection Act and that even though over 200 cases had been registered under the Act in the past two years, not a single person had been convicted so far
The amendment now introduced in the 2012 Act says that a police official ranked not less than an Inspector will investigate cases filed under the Act and that the investigation will be completed within 60 days of the registering of the FIR.
Special court and closing loopholes
Health Minister, Veena George, who spoke to the media earlier said that the trial procedures will also be completed within a stipulated time frame of one year and that the Government, with the consent of the High Court, will designate a court as a special court in every district for trying cases under the 2012 Act.
She said that all attempts had been made to fill existing loopholes in the 2012 Act, which enabled offenders to get away scot free after committing violence against doctors and hospitals. Ms. George added that a clause had also been added to the Act so that any further issues of safety of hospitals and healthcare workers can be addressed by the Government separately within the framework of law.
Definition of “healthcare service persons”
By expanding the scope of the definition of “healthcare service persons,” the new amendment has brought paramedical students and paramedical staff employed and working in medical service institutions, security guards, managerial staff, ambulance drivers and helpers in hospitals also within the ambit of the Act, to protect them against violence within hospital premises.
In the original Act, those given legal protection against violence had included only registered medical practitioners and nurses, medical and nursing students and paramedical workers employed and working in medical service institutions
The amendments will be presented as a Bill in the next Assembly session, Ms. George said, so that any further changes required in the Act can be included through discussions in the House.
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Increasing violence
Following a spate of violent attacks against hospitals over the past few months and State-wide agitation by doctors demanding stringent action against the perpetrators of violence, the Government had been in discussion with the medical fraternity on how the 2012 Act could be amended to give it more teeth.
Sadly, it took the brutal murder of a young house surgeon by a patient she was treating at the taluk hospital in Kottarakkara last week, to force the Government to fast track the ordinance on the amendment. Doctors, who went on a spontaneous agitation bringing healthcare to a standstill across the State, had demanded that more than platitudes, they needed immediate action, following which the CM had promised that the ordinance would be approved within a week.
The Chief Secretary was tasked to oversee the discussions on the amendments required for the 2012 Act, which were led by the Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Principal Secretary (Health) and Law Secretary. The draft ordinance had been prepared by including suggestions from the Kerala University of Health Sciences, professional organisations of doctors, medical students and allied health workers.
