Assault on doctors increasing in Punjab; over 400 cases in 2 years
Karam Prakash
Patiala, October 22
Recent incidents of physical assaults and misconduct have once again instilled a sense of fear in the mind of on-duty medical staff. As per the data, compiled by the Punjab Civil Medical Services (PCMS) Association, over 400 incidents of violence against medical staff, including doctors, have been reported over the past two years. “Every month, every district reported one case of violence against doctor over the past two years,” said the association.
Deploy cops
Police should be deployed at the government health centres. Violence against medical staff, especially doctors, is an emerging crisis. Dr Akhil Sareen, State President, PCMS Association
Very Unfortunate
These incidents (assaults) are very unfortunate. We have already requested the government to provide adequate security at all the hospitals. Dr Ranjit Singh, Director, Punjab Health Department
Though there is a trend of increasing violence against the staff on duty, the actions against the perpetrators are disproportionately low. A doctor on duty at Community Health Centre, Dhakoli, Mohali — after he was allegedly manhandled on October 13 — had to go on hunger strike to make the incident counted. The victim, Dr Rajesh Kumar, said doctors’ professional competence was negatively impacted by such incidents. “They cannot provide the best possible health services to the people until there is a safe working environment. Potential fear of violence always looms, especially in the emergency ward,” he said.
The Tribune discovered that the majority of the civil hospitals were sans adequate security. In some health centres, there is not even a single guard. One of the Chief Medical Officers (CMO), pleading anonymity, said: “The modus operandi of the authorities to treat doctors, especially during surprise checks, is seemingly making them more vulnerable. Many leaders of the political parties, in the name of checking, have threatened and abused the on-duty doctors which has also instilled a sense of fear.”
Another doctor, elaborating on the reasons behind such incidents, said the majority of the violence against doctors happened owing to fights between two groups at OOAT clinics, or over medico-legal reports.
Dr Akhil Sareen, state president, PCMS Association, said, “Violence against medical staff, especially doctors, is an emerging crisis in the government health sector. The misconduct is increasing by the day. The government should address the issue at the earliest.”
He demanded that police personnel should be deployed at each government health centre for better safety of the health staff. The association will go on strike, if the government fails to provide a safe working environment, said Dr Sareen.
Dr Ranjit Singh, Director, Health Department, said, “These incidents are unfortunate. We have already requested the government to provide adequate security at all hospitals.”
