Meet Dr Kiran Madhala: Telangana's doctor in sub-committee for safety and security of healthcare professionals

Hyderabad: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has formed the National Task Force (NTF) as per the directions of the Supreme Court after the rape and murder of the resident doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The NTF is responsible for preparing a protocol for ensuring the safety and facilities at the workplace for healthcare professionals.

Dr Kiran Madhala, general secretary of the Telangana Teaching Government Doctors Association (TTGDA) is the lone member from Telangana and the lone government doctor inducted into one of the sub-committees formed by the NTF.

Four subcommittees constituted

The 10-member NTF headed by Vice Admiral Arti Sarin, the director general of medical services (Navy) has constituted four subcommittees as part of formulating the protocol for safety and facilities at the workplace including:

Strengthening the infrastructure of medical institutions

Strengthening of security systems in medical institutions

Revamping the working conditions of healthcare professionals

Strengthening of legal framework across all states.

Dr. Kiran Madhala has been nominated as a member of the ‘Revamping working conditions of healthcare professionals’ subcommittee, which is headed by Dr Pratima Murthy, director of NIMHANS, including health secretaries of Jammu & Kashmir, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu.

Journey of Dr Kiran Madhala

Dr Kiran Madhala is currently secretary-general of the TTGDA and the national coordinator of the All India Federation of Governance Doctor's Association (AIFGDA). He is one of the founding members of both the TTGDA and the AIFGDA.

He completed his MBBS from Siddhartha Medical College, Vijayawada in 2005, followed by his post-graduation in Anaesthesiology and critical care, at Kakatiya Medical College, Warangal in 2010.

He entered the government service as a civil assistant surgeon in Area Hospital, Nirmal, in 2011 and was promoted to assistant professor at Government Medical College, Nizamabad. Dr Kiran was promoted to associate professor in 2018 and as Professor in 2023 in the same place and currently serves at Gandhi Medical College, Secunderabad.

Responsibility of the subcommittee

This subcommittee is entrusted with the main task of framing protocol to prevent sexual violence against medical professionals, based on the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

“The primary duty of the subcommittee is to check the status of the formation of an internal complaints committee (ICC) in all hospitals. The first discussion dedicated much time to the POSH act implementations, besides discussing the regularisation of working hours for healthcare professionals”, Dr Kiran Madhala said.

As per recent surveys and studies held by various organizations of the healthcare workers, the a lack of awareness among the employers on constituting the ICC and implementation of all prevailing laws in letter and spirit.

Key concerns of healthcare professionals

The recent survey by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has identified several grey areas, concerning the safety and infrastructure in government medical institutions.

The absence of separate duty rooms for male and female doctors, attached bathroom facilities, CCTV in strategic points, police force inside the campus of medical colleges, and baggage screening facilities at the entrance of the institutions are pressing concerns.

The subcommittee is tasked with the challenge of submitting proposals to address these issues raised by doctors from across the country.