Patiala, July 16 -- The Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA) has written to the Punjab government reminding it of the promise made last year of providing security personnel at health facilities across the state. Citing multiple assurances made by the government in the past, PCMSA, in a letter to the secretary health, the doctors' body, said they hope the issue of security inside health facilities will be resolved at the earliest. "On August 19, 2024, the Punjab government had unequivocally announced in a press conference at Punjab Bhawan that security personnel 'will be' deployed at all 24x7 health centres engaged in medicolegal work before September 9, 2024. As the government had first announced the hiring of security personnel on August 19, 2024, last year, PCMSA expresses optimism that the commitment in this regard will be met well before August 19 this year," reads the letter written to secretary health Kumar Rahul. The official statement by the doctors' body added that in the past two weeks, several incidents of violence against health professionals have been reported across the state. "In one such case of violence inside the health facility, gunshots were fired inside the community health centre in Kartarpur, Jalandhar, earlier this month. Two days earlier, two groups clashed in the emergency ward of the district hospital, Kapurthala. In another incident, a health worker was injured when he was attacked by a Nihang at Talwandi Sabo Hospital in Bathinda," the statement added. Currently, hundreds of primary health centres, community health centres and civil hospitals are operating without a single security guard, with female doctors, in particular, often left vulnerable while performing night duties in rural areas, the statement added. PCMSA president Dr Akhil Sarin said lack of security is one of the key factors leading to high attrition in the public health cadre. "The provision of a safe and conducive work environment to healthcare workers is vital for the optimal delivery of healthcare services. The government needs to walk the talk on this issue and implement its written commitments made in August last year without any delay whatsoever," he said. A senior official said the Punjab health department plans to deploy nearly 900 security personnel at 23 district hospitals, 42 sub-divisional hospitals, and 65 CHCs that operate 24x7 emergency services. "The formalities and modalities are being worked out. Last month, the finance department raised some objections to our proposal to deploy security guards. We have once again submitted the proposal with clarification on queries by the finance department," he said....