State govt orders security panel in hospitals across Telangana

Hyderabad: Hospitals with 100 beds and above across the state have been asked to comply with the constitution of a hospital security committee and a violence prevention committee under the Telangana Vaidya Vidhana Parishad (TVVP) and the director of medical health with immediate effect.
A govt order issued on Thursday includes measures such as conducting a security audit, mapping restricted and public areas in hospitals and ensuring proper barricades.
The committee will also look at facilities such as rest rooms, duty rooms, adequate lighting and more. It also outlines a visitor policy, baggage screening in hospitals, CCTV coverage and to retain CCTV footage.
"The security audit is required to ensure that adequate security personnel are present both inside and outside the hospital during all three shifts. Similarly, any problems with CCTV cameras need to be identified and rectified, and more CCTV cameras should be procured based on the requirements as per the security audit. These are some of the basics that need to be put in place urgently," said a senior health official, adding that all hospitals are also required to liaise with the local police and set up a 24x7 control room for this purpose.
In addition, one of the main tasks of the hospital violence prevention committee is to create awareness about the laws and punishments for assaulting medical staff and sexual harassment.
It also mandates the development of protocols for the rapid filing of complaints (in the event of an assault on a medical professional) and regular training of hospital staff, including doctors, in conflict management. "All hospital superintendents up to the district level have been asked to implement this immediately and send a compliance report. Each step, such as proper lighting, is important in improving safety and security, so a lot of attention is being paid to each of these aspects," the official added.