NEW DELHI: The government may consider introducing appropriate legal safeguards for healthcare workers, who at times face violence from relatives or attendants of patients, a parliamentary panel has said.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs headed by BJP member Brij Lal, which examined the proposed three criminal laws, discussed a memoranda submitted by various medical associations requesting it to introduce provisions under Clause 115 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) to penalise acts of violence against healthcare service personnel.

The committee, in its report, said it was submitted before the panel that unlike in any other professions, healthcare professionals are vulnerable to “violent attacks” by relatives of patients, in cases where patients die during treatment.

Such violent attacks against healthcare personnel are prevalent throughout the country and there is a need to provide some legal safeguards for the benefit of healthcare workers, the medical associations told the committee.

In its response, the Union Home Ministry said the general penal provisions are applicable to all and no distinction is made in the penal laws for any class of person.

The home ministry also informed the committee that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has a proposal to introduce a ‘Medical Professionals Act’ to provide safeguards to healthcare workers against violent attacks, and that the home ministry would take an update from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on the same.