The law provides safety and security to those working in the health sector, be it a public or private institution

President Bidhya Devi Bhandari authenticated the Security of Health Workers and Health Organisations (First Amendment) Act on July 15, awarding stringent punishment to anyone who commits offence against health personnel or health organisations.

The law, which was first introduced in 2010, had to be amended to provide legal protection to the health personnel and health organizations due to the growing incidents of offences against them over the death of a patient in the course of medical treatment.

It has become common for relatives of the deceased patient(s) to resort to violence against the health personnel and vandalise the health facility even without knowing the actual cause of the death. They also demand hefty sums of money in compensation from the health institutions over the death of a patient. As per the new provision, which came into force immediately, if any person commits an offence in contravention of the law in a way to harm the health personnel or a health institution, s/he will be liable to imprisonment for a term ranging from two years to five years or a fine not exceeding Rs 500,000 or both.

This legal provision ensures the safety and security of all those working in the health sector, be it a public or private health institution.

It has also stated that compensation will be recovered from the offender(s) depending on the degree of harm caused to the health personnel and health institution. The law also prohibits picketing, manhandling or misbehaving with any health worker on the issue of medical treatment, obstructing delivery of health services, padlocking, destroying, torching and vandalising any health institution. The health workers or health institution concerned may request the local administration for security should a person or group resort to such acts in any health institution. It will be the duty of the local administration to provide security to the health workers and health institution upon request. An 11-member health worker and health institution security coordination committee, headed by a 12th level official of the Ministry of Health and Population, shall be formed to provide security to the health workers and health institution.

While it is commendable that the law has provided safety and security to the health workers and health institutions, it should also have enough room for punishment for the erring health personnel and health institution as well as a package of compensation for the affected patient(s) or their kin. It is not true that the patient(s) or their relatives are always on the wrong side of the law. There have been reports that proved health personnel and health institutions had erred while providing health services to the people. In such cases, the court of law should decide the case through a fast-track process so that the affected person(s) could get compensation as determined by the concerned body. As affected patient(s) and their relatives are not organised, the law should also give them enough room for laying claims on the harm that the health workers and health institutions inflict on the patients. Providing medical treatment or conducting a surgery based on wrong diagnosis is the most common problem the general people face in many of the private health institutions which lack the desired expertise.

Waste segregation

Managing Kathmandu's waste has taken up the greater part of the new mayor's attention since taking office towards the end of May. It's only been some time that heaps of garbage that had collected at every street corner of the Kathmandu Valley have begun to be picked up regularly. Even now, garbage continues to be strewn along the river banks or in the open fields along the roads because the municipalities are unable to take care of all the waste generated in the valley.

In a bid to manage the ever-growing waste, Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has announced an initiative to segregate waste at the source. Beginning July 17, the KMC, under the campaign, will collect only biodegradable waste on Sundays and Wednesdays and non-biodegradable waste on Mondays and Fridays. Chandragiri Municipality has pledged to support KMC's efforts, and all other municipalities of the valley are expected to do so likewise. The initiative should reduce the amount of waste being transported to the landfill site at Bancharedanda while increasing its lifespan. Furthermore, money generated from the sale of compost fertiliser should add, whatever little, to the municipalities' resources.

A version of this article appears in the print on July 18, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.