Patiala, Oct. 7 -- Days after the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA) threatened to go on a strike after Diwali over their long-pending demand for enhanced security, the Punjab government wrote to the managing director of the Punjab Ex-Servicemen Corporation (PESCO) on Monday for arranging 200 security guards. According to the official communique of the health department dated October 6, approximately 200 security guards will be deployed at all district hospitals of the state soon. This is the first time that the Punjab government will be providing security guards to government hospitals. Incidents of violence and vandalism on the hospital premises, which resulted in injuries to medical staff, have prompted the deployment of security personnel. In 2024-25 alone, 80 incidents of violence were reported on the hospital premises. "To provide a safe working environment to medical professionals/medical officers in Punjab government hospitals, the state government has decided to provide security guards by March 31, 2026. The expenditure for hiring these security guards and salaries will be borne by the Punjab Health System Corporation (PHSC)," reads the letter issued by the Punjab health department to the managing director of the PESCO. Punjab health department officials told HT that they would provide security guards at sub-divisional hospitals before December 31; and 24x7 community health centres before March 31, next year. Currently, many community health centres (CHCs), civil and district hospitals are operating without any security guards. "At a time when the government is grappling with the issue of high attrition and low entry rates of medical officers into the public health cadre, a secure working environment will serve as an effective pull factor to combat this issue. Therefore, security guards are the need of the hour," said a medical officer. Dr Akhil Sarin, state president, PCMSA, said, "We express optimism that the next two phases, deployment of security guards at SDH by December 31 and at CHCs by March 31, 2026, will be completed within the set timelines. We believe that this will serve as a big pull factor to retain doctors in the public health cadre by providing them a safe and conducive work environment."...