Health facilities must be made safe for all women

Representation pic

A Kolkata court sentenced Sanjay Roy to life imprisonment until death on Monday after he was convicted of raping and murdering an on-duty doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024. One saw, quite rightly, how this case created widespread outrage and prolonged protests especially in West Bengal.

The court also ordered Roy to pay a Rs 50,000 fine and directed the state government to pay compensation of R17 lakh to the family of the deceased doctor. Subsequently, the parents of the deceased expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict and stated that they would move to a higher court.

The news has been dominated by calls for capital punishment for Roy. While opinions were expected and reactions will be highlighted, the focus should also be on whether health facilities are implementing safety measures now.

Are doctors, especially women, safer now? Do they have recourse to alarms that can trigger a quick response from those in charge? There must be enough lighting in all parts of hospitals. Security has to be adequate. Some doctors had pointed out that this was certainly not enough in the hospitals they worked in.

During the protests, it was brought up several times that in several establishments, there needed to be more washrooms. These have to be spotlessly clean as doctors work extremely long hours, and one cannot endanger one's health while healing others.

The debate about the verdict will surely go on and fingers will be pointed about politicising the issue. While this is expected, what cannot be forgotten is that this does not stop at the courts. It stops when we see a sea change at facilities and our doctors, both junior and senior, are accorded good facilities and safety protocols are in place.