Amidst the nationwide protests to ensure the safety of doctors after the rape and murder incident at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, another such news has come to light. A patient attacked a female junior doctor at a hospital in Tirupati. This incident, which took place at Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS), was captured on the CCTV cameras installed in the hospital. In the CCTV footage, the patient is seen grabbing the doctor’s hair and banging her head on the steel frame of the hospital bed. However, other doctors present in the ward immediately come forward to save their colleague and try to catch the patient. The woman suffered minor injuries in the attack and is currently out of danger.
After this, the woman doctor wrote a letter to SVIMS Director and Vice Chancellor Dr. RV Kumar and narrated her ordeal. In this letter, the junior doctor said that she was on duty in the emergency medicine department on Saturday. She wrote, “I was suddenly attacked by a patient Bangaru Raju. He came to me from behind, pulled my hair and started hitting my head with a steel rod of a bed.” She further said that no security personnel was present on the spot to help her. She said that this incident raises serious concerns about safety at the workplace. Further, the doctor wrote demanding safety measures to ensure the safety of the employees, “If the patient had any sharp weapon, the situation could have been serious.”
Reminded me of Kolkata incident
It is not yet clear why the patient attacked the doctor, but after this incident, the doctors of the hospital protested and demanded safety at the workplace. This incident in the Andhra hospital has happened a few weeks after the horrific rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor in Kolkata. This incident has led to massive protests and doctors from many prominent institutions across the country have taken to the streets demanding measures to ensure their safety at the workplace.
The Supreme Court has constituted a National Task Force
At the same time, the Supreme Court has constituted a 10-member national task force to recommend steps to prevent violence against healthcare workers and ensure their safety. The court has said that the task force will prepare a plan to prevent gender-based violence and ensure a safe workplace for doctors.