The Maharashtra government today told the Bombay High Court that it has decided to deploy from September 56 security personnel in four government and four civic hospitals in Mumbai to prevent attacks on doctors and staff by aggrieved relatives of patients.
These security personnel will comprise policemen and home guards.
"The configuration of armed, unarmed, male and female security will be decided by Commissioner of Police in view of requirements and law and order situation," said Dr Prakash Wakode, Joint Director, Medical Education and Research, Mumbai, in an affidavit.
The armed security guards would be constantly on the move, patrolling all the sensitive areas of the hospital with particular attention to Casualty, Intensive Care Unit and Out Patient Department areas, the affidavit said.
The government informed the court that it had written a letter to Maharashtra Security Corporation for performing security audit. For this, registration process has been completed. The Corporation would start security audit to access need of security personnel in various government medical colleges and hospitals in the state.
The Corporation would be in a position to deploy security guards in September this year, it told a division bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka.
Last week, the HC had observed that steps need to be taken at the earliest to ensure security in state and civic hospitals after it perused an affidavit filed by the government detailing the deployment of police personnel and security staff in such hospitals.
As per that affidavit, two policemen each are posted for security at J J Hospital, Sion Hospital, St George's Hospital, G T Hospital and Nair Hospital, while in KEM Hospital four policemen are deployed.
A public interest litigation was filed in this regard by activist Afak Mandaviya highlighting the issue of doctors going on strike frequently causing inconvenience to patients.
On earlier hearings, the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) had assured the HC that henceforth it would not give a call or go on strike anywhere in the state and would only hold peaceful demonstrations highlighting their grievances which included attacks on doctors by relatives.
