Violence Against Healthcare Professionals in India: Recent Legal and Policy Issues
Identifying causes and exploring structural solutions
Summary: This report analyses trends in violence against healthcare professionals, recommending systemic changes over criminalisation. It calls for reforming medical education, rebuilding trust in doctor-patient relationships and employer liability for a safer workplace.
In recent years a number of incidents of violence against healthcare professionals have been reported in India. Public outrage against recent cases of such violence prompted the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, to propose the Healthcare Service Personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of Violence and Damage to Property) Bill, 2019. The Bill was an attempt to make violence against healthcare personnel a separate offence through targeted legislation. During inter-ministerial consultations, however, the need to enact a separate law was not felt as the existing provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 were considered sufficient to deal with such acts of violence. Although the idea of a separate legislation has been laid to rest for the time being, the issue of violence in healthcare settings as a law and policy issue continues to remain relevant.
In this context, this report briefly analyses trends in violence against healthcare professionals, evaluates the usefulness of legislative proposals and identifies potential ways of tackling such violence. The report, particularly, points towards the lack of comprehensive information on this issue and the need for a countrywide study to analyse the causes of violence and their potential solutions. Further, it recommends that the systemic issues in law enforcement need to be addressed first to have any deterrent impact rather than creating a new law. The report also recommends that the onus of providing a safe workplace should be on healthcare establishments and reforms should be made in medical education to address capacity issues at healthcare establishments. Finally, the report suggests that attention should be given on public education and overhauling of the regulation and governance of healthcare in India to rebuild trust in doctor-patient relationships.
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About the Authors
Akshat was a Research Fellow at Vidhi. He has advised on projects relating to the regulation of the digital economy, privacy, federalism and healthare. His areas of research interest included constitutional law, gender and sexuality, family law and public health.
Dr. Dhvani Mehta {B.L.S. LL.B. (University of Mumbai); BCL, D.Phil (Oxon)} is a Co-Founder at Vidhi and Lead, Health. She has worked specifically on research projects on environmental clearances, the National Green Tribunal, organ transplant laws, end of life care, and pharmaceutical and medical device regulation. She has appeared in the Supreme Court of India in petitions filed by Vidhi on advance medical directives and discrimination against persons affected by leprosy. She has authored chapters on the implementation of environmental judgments and healthcare corruption in India. Dhvani read for a doctoral degree at the University of Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship, where she was Chairperson of Oxford Pro Bono Publico and an editor of the Oxford Human Rights Hub blog. Her doctoral thesis explores the idea of an environmental rule of law in India and was cited by the Supreme Court of India.
Shreya was a Senior Resident Fellow working in the area of Health and Education. She worked on research projects related to public health, patient rights and inclusive education. Her areas of interest include Public Health, Right to Education, Constitutional law, Cyber law, and the intersection of Health and Technology. Shreya graduated with a B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) from Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur in 2018. She has been published in newspapers and websites like The Hindu and The Wire. She has co-authored the Centre for Civil Society’s ‘Compendium of laws to be repealed in Chhattisgarh’. In collaboration with the Centre for Communication Governance (CCG), she submitted an academic paper to MEITY on ‘Non-Consensual Obscene Content and Indian Law’. Prior to joining Vidhi, she has interned with policy organisations like CCG and the Land Rights Initiative at the Centre for Policy Research, in the Chambers of Senior Advocate Prashant Bhushan, and with law firms like Karanjawala & Co and Samvaad Partners.
