Safety of women employees is of great importance in institutions like hospitals where the chances of crime against women and children are significant. Mangla Dembi, Facility Director, Fortis Hospital as a management expert speaks about the need for provisions to ensure security of women employees in hospital, in an interview with Raelene Kambli
Maintaining security of women employees at a hospital setup should be a voluntary exercise or mandatory?
Hospitals are one of those few industries which celebrate the dominance of women workforce. Thus, ensuring the safety of women in the workplace is of prime importance. We have various policies and measures to ensure the safety of women working with us.
How many women employees do you have at your hospital?
More than two third of the population working in our hospital comprises women.
How do you ensure the security of women employees at your hospital? What are the security provisions for women employees at your hospital?
We ensure that the female employees get a safe pickup and drop in case they have to travel at odd hours. Within the organisation, we have a very strict policy against sexual harassment.
In a hospital set up , the security would certainly include safety of women nurses from belligerent patients. So, how do you ensure security of these nurses?
Although we have not had any such cases till now; we ensure that the nurses are safe against any such case though. We have placed security guards 24/7 at each floor. If required, they are instructed to take charge. Other than that, we do deploy male nurses in each shift who can handle such patients if and when required.
What about securing women employees from infections etc?
We have a very strict infection control policy. Every employee, irrespective of their gender or designation or the type of work, are trained on the policy. An infection control officer is always on vigil and takes corrective preventive actions as and when required. All staff members are also trained on the safety hazards in their related areas and how to safeguard themselves from these hazards.
What according to you should be the rules to maintain overall security of women employees within hospitals?
In today’s world, where women are working neck-to-neck with men and are equal contributors in their family income, they have also become prone to working late hours and thus face many safety issues. Organisations should strive to maintain safety and security of their female employees in every possible manner. It also includes their safety while commuting to the workplace. Strict measures should also be taken inside the organisation to ensure their safety.
What is your message to the industry?
Ours is an industry that personifies the empowerment of women. It employs a significantly large number of women across the nation. It is upon us to benchmark the safety and security standards for women workforce.
raelene.kambli@expressindia.com