In a significant move, the Union cabinet on Wednesday amended the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1987 through an ordinance in order to ensure safety of health workers at a time when there has been a spate of attacks on them. Any violence against health workers may now bring steep fines and even imprisonments of up to seven years.
This move comes hours after Home Minister Amit Shahaddressed Nina Medical Association through a video conference, assuring them ofsafety and urging them to withdraw the symbolic protest scheduled for laterthis month against incidents of violence on health workers pressed into CVID-19duty.
From now on, not just such violence is cognizable but alsonon-bailable offence. Additionally, it has provisions to provide compensationfor injury to healthcare service personnel or for causing damage or loss to theproperty, the government said on Wednesday.
K.S. Dhatwalia, Principal Spokesperson for the government,tweeted: “Ordinance would help protect healthcare service personnel andtheir living/working premises against violence”.
“This actually helps protect the entire healthfraternity including doctors, nurses, paramedics up to ASHA workers,” saidUnion I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar.
The Minister said the amendment was necessitated after incidentsof violence were witnessed against them while discharging their crucial dutyfor the country.The amendment has ensured that the investigationtakes place in a time-bound manner. A special provision is also made in theordinance in case vehicles or clinics are damaged. In such cases, two times thecost will be recovered from assailants.