Many female doctors feel unsafe during their night shifts, so much so that some have even considered carrying self-defense weapons. This was revealed by a recent survey conducted by the Indian Medical Association (IMA).
According to IMA, one-third of the doctors surveyed reported feeling unsafe during their night shifts. This survey was conducted following the rape and murder of a trainee female doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The survey found that 45% of respondents said there were no duty rooms available during night shifts.
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IMA claims this is the largest study on this topic in India, with 3,885 individual responses. The survey included doctors from over 22 states, with 85% of them under 35 years old and 61% being trainees. The results showed that 24.1% of doctors felt unsafe, and 11.4% felt very unsafe. The proportion of women feeling unsafe was higher.
The study found that doctors aged 20-30 felt the least safe. It also noted that duty rooms are often overcrowded and lack essential facilities like locks. Additionally, one-third of the available duty rooms did not have attached toilets. The study reported that 53% of duty rooms were located far from wards or emergency departments.
To improve safety, doctors suggested increasing the number of trained security personnel, installing CCTV cameras, ensuring proper lighting, enforcing a Central Security Act (CPA), installing alarm systems, and providing secure duty rooms. Dr. Jaydevan stated, “This online survey was sent to government and private doctors across India through Google Forms. We received 3,885 responses within 24 hours.”
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