Despite Supreme Court ruling, nurse sexually harassed in West Bengal hospital – The Week

A nurse working at a health centre in Birbhum, West Bengal, was allegedly sexually harassed by a patient in the late hours of Saturday. The shock comes as the Supreme Court is hearing an ex officio case into the death of a junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and has constituted a team to suggest measures to ensure safety of medical staff in hospitals.

According to police, the incident occurred when the nurse was on night duty at Ilambazar Health Centre in Birbhum and was administering medicine to the accused patient. The nurse was allegedly inappropriately touched by the patient while administering saline solution to him. The patient's family was present during the incident, NDTV reported.

“The male patient misbehaved with me and touched my private parts inappropriately while I was just following the doctor's instructions. He also verbally abused me,” the nurse told NDTV. The nurse said the incident happened due to lack of security and the patient would not have dared to do this if there were adequate security measures in place at the hospital.

The West Bengal government and Kolkata police are facing strong backlash over lapses in the investigation into the death of a medical student at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Medical professionals have staged nationwide protests demanding justice for the victim and better security measures in hospitals.