Assam’s Silchar Medical College cancels controversial advisory to female doctors

Facing massive backlash, Assam’s Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) on Wednesday cancelled its advisory to female doctors and other staffers asking them to ‘avoid going alone’ to ‘isolated places’ at night.
The advisory sent by Dr Bhaskar Gupta, the institute’s principal cum chief superintendent, in view of the gruesome rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, faced protests from students, who called for enhanced security measures in the hospital.
“The advisory issued earlier stands cancelled. A new one will be issued soon in this regard,” Gupta said, adding that its aim was to ensure the safety and security of women doctors, students, and all healthcare workers on the campus.
The original advisory stated that female medics, students, and staff, should, as much as possible, ‘avoid situations where they are alone.’
“…refrain from leaving hostel or lodging rooms during night hours unless absolutely necessary, with prior information to the concerned authority. They must avoid going off-campus during late or odd hours,” Dr Gupta wrote in the now-cancelled advisory.
In it, he had also written that, “All hostel boarders should abide by the hostel norms and regulations laid by the institute and administration. Be cautious and avoid associating with individuals who appear unknown or are suspicious in nature. Always ensure you have a means of making emergency contact in case of urgent situations.”
During their duty hours, doctors should be ‘well-composed emotionally,’ ‘remain alert’ and ‘graciously’ interact with members of the public to avoid ‘unnecessary attention’ from ‘unscrupulous people,’ it had suggested.
The Junior Doctors’ Association (JDA), however, said that the advisory made students feel ‘deeply saddened and ashamed.’
“It is outrageous and fails to address the key issues pertaining to SMCH,” the association noted.
(With PTI inputs)