The National Health Mission (NHM) Tamil Nadu on Friday, September 29, ordered the installation of CCTV cameras in all urban and rural Primary Health Centres (PHCs) at a cost of Rs 10.17 crore. The move, initiated with the stated intent of strengthening security for government doctors and health workers, and monitoring the attendance of medical officers, is being opposed by medical staff who have flagged concerns of privacy, for themselves and their patients.
While the NHM is a Union government programme, each state has its own unit, and NHM Tamil Nadu is headed by Mission Director Shilpa Prabhakar Satish. The order requires two CCTV cameras to be fixed in each PHC – one in the waiting hall and another directly pointing to the Medical Officer’s chair. A total of 4,572 CCTV cameras are to be installed in the 2,286 PHCs in Tamil Nadu. The respective Deputy Director of Health Services, Block Medical Officers and other health officials have been asked to ensure that the installation process takes place seamlessly even if it is to be done during late night hours. Available internet connections are to be used for Network Video Recording, the order said.
Opposing the order, Dr Swaminathan, president of the Service Doctors and Post Graduates Association (SDPGA), told TNM, “If there is a need to strengthen security, they can install CCTVs outside and maybe even in the OP (outpatient) wards or corridors. What is the need to have a CCTV directly pointing at the medical officer’s chair at all times? They have also said that this will help in understanding if the doctors are regularly on duty. But to ensure regular attendance, there is already a biometric system in place.”
Dr Shanthi AR, secretary of the Doctors’ Association for Social Equality (DASE), echoed Dr Swaminathan’s views and said that the move will directly infringe on the privacy of doctors and patients. Women medical officers might become very conscious of what they wear and how they move around if a camera is constantly focusing on them, Dr Shanthi said. She added, “Usually a stool for patients to sit is placed right next to the medical officer’s chair. Hence, there is a chance for this move to infringe on the privacy of patients as well. Additionally, there is no mention of whether even audio would be recorded. If that is the case, several patients, especially women, might become very uncomfortable to share their problems openly with the doctors.”
Both the office bearers of DASE and SDPGA questioned if the NHM Tamil Nadu Mission Director Shilpa Prabhakar Satish thought of these concerns before signing the order. Dr Swaminathan asked, “Will the Director herself be comfortable with a camera pointed at her chair, constantly observing her every movement every day? Is this a democratic move?” He further alleged that NHM Tamil Nadu is trying to portray medical officers in the wrong light to the public by passing this order under the pretext of ensuring that doctors are attending to patients on time, by suggesting that they need to be constantly monitored to perform their duties effectively.