Government order does not address private hospitals

May 18, 2015 11:58 am | Updated April 02, 2016 10:40 pm IST - CHENNAI

Last July, the State health department issued a government order under which guidelines and examination proforma for medico-legal cases and victims of sexual violence were forwarded for adherence.

The order clearly states that “sexual assault survivors and victims cannot be denied treatment in a hospital – whether private or Government. It is thus a mandatory obligation…The Secretary has requested to adopt the guidelines in all hospitals in the State.” And yet, in the next paragraph, the order instructs the heads of departments of all government medical institutions to adhere to the guidelines. The order has also only been sent out to heads of government institutions and projects. What about private hospitals then?

Senior officials of the health department admit that this needs to be rectified. “We will write to the Indian Medical Association and other private bodies to ensure all private hospitals too, follow this law. This will be done as soon as possible,” an official clarifies.

According to A. Somasundaram, secretary, Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP), Chennai city branch, the problem is also because of lack of awareness about the law. “Sexual abuse or assault make for medico-legal cases; they involve the police and testifying at court proceedings, which make doctors apprehensive. But doctors need to know that all they have to do is state their findings and submit a report,” he states.

Over the last two months, the IAP and the Indian Medical Association’s Tamil Nadu State branch have been holding seminars for doctors to sensitise them about the law and how to abide by it, says Dr. Somasundaram, adding that they wanted to extend this to paramedical workers too.

What does the law say?

Under section 357C of the Code of Criminal Procedure :

All hospitals, public or private, whether run by the Central Government, the State Government, local bodies or any other person, shall immediately, provide the first-aid or medical treatment, free of cost, to the victims of any offence covered under section 326A, 376, 376A, 376B, 376C, 376D or section 376E of the Indian Penal Code, and shall immediately inform the police of such incident.

Under section 27 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 :

No medical practitioner, hospital or other medical facility centre rendering emergency medical care to a child shall demand any legal or magisterial requisition or other documentation as a pre-requisite to rendering such care.

The child may be brought to the hospital for emergency medical care as soon as the police receive a report of the commission of an offence against the child. In such cases, the rules under the POCSO Act, 2012, prescribe that the child is to be taken to the nearest hospital or medical care facility. This may be a government facility or a private one.

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