TN govt hospitals to get metal detectors, RFID tags for visitors
After Wednesday’s bloody wake-up call, State Health Minister heeds doctors’ demand for safety measures; vows trial run in select hospitals soon
Doctors protest outside the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital on Thursday
CHENNAI: A day after the attack on oncologist Dr Balaji Jegannathan at the Kalaignar Centenary Super Specialty Hospital, Health Minister Ma Subramanian announced on Thursday that all the government hospitals will be equipped with metal detectors and Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) tags for patients and visitors.
The RFID tag system has already been implemented at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. According to the system, red tags will be issued to those admitted to the intensive care unit, yellow for attendants of patients in super specialty departments, green for attendants of patients admitted to surgical super specialty departments, and blue tags for attendants of those admitted to general wards.
The health minister said with advanced facilities at government hospitals, footfalls have increased in recent years. As hospitals become more and more crowded, outpatients will also be given identity cards to ensure the safety of doctors. Discussions will be held with joint directors and district health officers concerned for the implementation of safety measures.
Acting on the demand of the government doctors’ association -- to install metal detectors in hospitals – the health department will have them in place at a few hospitals initially to understand the feasibility. The names of the chosen institutions will soon be announced,” he said.
Earlier in August, during a meeting to discuss safety and security measures at hospitals, the health minister had stated that a joint security audit will be held in all government hospitals.
The orders were issued to the Directorate of Medical Education and Research, Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services, and Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine to ensure that CCTV cameras installed in hospitals are functional and their footage monitored regularly.
It was advised to ensure that hospitals have adequate lighting and regular police patrolling is conducted at government medical college hospitals. The health minister said the measures are being implemented in a phased manner.
Talking about services at hospitals in the State after Wednesday’s attack on the doctor, the health minister said all the departments are functioning normally. He added that a meeting will be held with the deans of all medical colleges to discuss the safety of doctors; a meeting will also be held with the district deputy directors of health services.
