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Abstract
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On May 8, 2022, the President of Nepal, on the recommendation of the Nepal government and Council of Ministers, issued the Ordinance on the Safety and Security of Health Workers and Health Institutions (First Amendment) Ordinance, 2079 B.S. under Article 114 (1) of the Constitution of Nepal.1 The Ordinance includes the provision of a safe working environment for physicians and health care workers. The legislation was welcomed wholeheartedly by members of the medical community, particularly considering the increasing rates of violence against health workers fuelled by the surge in COVID-19 cases.2
Unfortunately, a mere five days after issuing the ordinance, emergency doctors at Birat Medical College, Tankisinuwari were attacked by relatives of patients, with the hospital itself also vandalised. This was unfortunately not an isolated incident. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors and nurses of Bheri Hospital, Nepalgunj were forced to jump from a double-storeyed building to save themselves from attack. Health care workers and the whole medical fraternity in Nepal are clearly distressed by these situations.
The Nepal Medical Association (NMA) has long advocated for management of violence against health care workers with a demand for these types of offences to be classified as a "non-bailable offense." Initially, the Public Health Act (2075) policy deemed a person offensive if they were found to be obstructing and disturbing a health worker or institution and preventing them from fulfilling the duty, incurring a penalty in the form of a fine from 25,000 up to 50,000 NPR.3 The June 6 2021 Ordinance on Security of Health Workers and Health Institutions added jail sentences as a penalty.2 The recent first amendment designates that fire or vandalism at health facilities and attacks or physical injury to heath workers will result in detention and sentencing at a trial. The detention does not apply to people padlocking health organizations, intimidating, and demonstrating offensive behaviour...
Language: en |