More than half of the healthcare workers surveyed, especially in state and central government medical colleges, felt their workplaces were “unsafe”.
The study, led by experts from Vardhman Mahavir Medical College (VMMC), Safdarjung Hospital and AIIMS, New Delhi, highlighted “critical gaps” in security infrastructure in India's healthcare settings.
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“Workplace Safety and Security in Indian Healthcare Settings: A Cross-Sectional Survey” published in the latest issue of Epidemiology International finds that there is an urgent need to improve the safety and security measures prevalent in healthcare settings. I emphasized that.
The study was carried out by Dr Kartik Chadar and Dr Jugal Kishore of VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital, Dr Richa Mishra, Dr Semanthi Das, Dr Indra Shekhar Prasad and Dr Prakalp of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). This is a joint research by Dr. Gupta. Delhi.
This cross-sectional survey was conducted using a pre-tested, self-administered online questionnaire among 1,566 healthcare workers from various healthcare institutions across India to assess various aspects of workplace safety. I rated it. Logistic regression was used to find differences between groups.
Study participants consisted of 869 women (55.5 percent) and 697 men (44.5 percent). About a quarter (24.7%) of the healthcare workers were from Delhi, of which about half were trainees (49.6%), followed by undergraduate medical students including interns (15.9%).
Responses were also received from faculty, medical officers, nursing staff, and other support staff.
The majority of respondents were employed in government-run medical colleges (71.5%). Half of the respondents worked in a nonsurgical department (49.2%), and one third worked in a surgical department (33.8%).
According to lead author of the study, Dr. Jugal Kishore, the results showed that more than half (58.2%) of healthcare workers felt unsafe at work, and 78.4% reported receiving threats while on the job. It has become clear that
Nearly half of healthcare workers do not have a dedicated duty room because they work long hours or nights.
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Dr Kishore said the existing duty rooms are woefully inadequate to provide basic facilities and services such as regular cleaning, pest control, ventilation, room space and air conditioning.
He said an overwhelming majority of healthcare workers have expressed “deep dissatisfaction” with existing safety measures in healthcare facilities across India.
More than 70% felt security personnel were incompetent, and 62% reported that emergency alert systems were inadequate. Nearly half reported serious gaps in access control, surveillance and security in high-risk areas such as ICUs and psychiatric wards.
More than 90% of facilities lack adequate testing for weapons and dangerous materials, and nearly three-quarters report lacking a secure hospital perimeter. These findings highlight the “dire situation of inadequate security” at critical medical sites, putting both workers and patients at risk, Dr. Kishore said.
“A marked difference in security satisfaction emerged between private and government medical colleges, with state government institutions showing the highest level of dissatisfaction,” Dr Kishore said.
More than 63% of respondents at state medical universities were dissatisfied with the number of security guards, and they were four times more likely to be dissatisfied than at private universities.
Dissatisfaction was more than 3.5 times higher, with nearly 70% criticizing the lack of emergency alarms, access controls and security in high-risk areas.
“Although central government universities performed somewhat better, they were still up to twice as likely to be dissatisfied compared to private universities,” Dr Kishore elaborated.
Additionally, an astonishing 81.3 percent of health workers report witnessing violence, but nearly half (44.1 percent) feel inadequate responses to these incidents.
Approximately 80 percent of respondents did not know who to contact in an emergency, and more than 70 percent lacked a clear and confidential process for reporting security concerns.
To address these challenges, the study recommended increasing security in high-risk areas, increasing the number of guards, improving conditions in duty rooms and introducing clear violence response procedures.
Regular security training and cooperation with national institutions to advocate for a legal framework were also suggested.
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