Mumbai: Over 5,000 doctors in public hospitals across Maharashtra have threatened to go on mass leave on Friday to protest ‘peacefully’ against the beating up of a doctor in a government hospital in Dhule and to demand that security for doctors be stepped up.
Dr Rohan Mhamunkar, an on-duty doctor at the Dhule Civil Hospita was beaten up by 15 to 20 relatives of a patient when he asked them to take the patient to another hospital due to the absence of an on-duty neurosurgeon on March 12. Whilst the patient was brought in with severe head injuries, the resident doctor himself sustained serious injuries as a result of the attack. He is currently undergoing treatment at Jupiter Hospital in Thane for severe injuries to his left eye socket, chest abrasions, lacerated wounds on his body and injuries to the head.
“This is not the first time that a doctor has been attacked since it has been happening regularly across the state,” Yashowardhan Kabra, President of Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) told Gulf News. “That is why we have been all along following up this matter with authorities and urging them to implement the Bombay High Court directives to provide adequate police protection in the hospitals to curb violence,” he said.
The mass leave on Friday is only a ‘token protest’ to get the attention of authorities, he said insisting that it will not inconvenience patients since there are other medical staff members on duty. Residents doctors are expected to keep away from work, including emergencies, from 8 am on Friday to 8 am on Saturday. “We have already informed the authorities about the protest,” he said.
The MARD has also demanded that the number of people with a patient should be restricted to two unlike in the present situation when 20 to 30 relatives and friends congregate at the hospital for one patient. It gets worse when the patient is in a serious state. “Since there is insufficient security, we have asked for armed guards. A demand for Rapid Action Force [RAF] to be posted at all major government hospitals across Maharashtra has also been put forward. The presence of RAF at Mumbai’s KEM Hospital has been successful in curbing violence,” said Kabra, a Jalgaon-based specialist.
Kabra added that MARD has written to Dr Pravin Shingare, head of the Medical Education and Research department, but have received no assurance from him. However, Shingare has said that number of security personnel will be increased outside the casualty ward to stop crowds from entering.
Meanwhile, The Indian Medical Association will hold a protest rally at Azad Maidan on Friday in support of resident doctors and another organisation representing doctors, Alliance of Doctors for Ethical Healthcare, has condemned the attack on the doctor.
Dr Arun Gadre of the Alliance says, “We are sad that the incident took place in a civil hospital where thousands of poor flock for treatment. If a particular facility or specialist is absent in a government hospital, the onus of responsibility lies on the administration and government policies and not the doctors treating the patients,” he said.
