Doctor beaten up by patient kin over signing consent form, IMA demands action
Patna: A private doctor was allegedly assaulted, and his clinic was vandalized by intoxicated attendants of a patient over signing the consent form on Monday evening.
Demanding immediate arrest of culprits, the Bihar chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has termed such acts as reprehensible and written to the Director General Police (DGP) of Bihar seeking to intervene in the matter and take strict action.
In a letter addressed to the DGP of Bihar, the Association condemned the inaction of the police claiming that they neither went to the clinic nor made any attempt at arresting the people involved in the assault even after 15 hours since the incident took place.
As per the FIR filed by the victim, Dr Amit Kumar of the Kalyani orthopedics and gynecological center, Rajendra Nagar, Patna, on September 27 around 5 pm, relatives of a patient who had come to the clinic with pregnancy pain initially refused to sign the advance payment required for the delivery, however, the doctor continued the treatment.
When the final stage of pregnancy came, the doctor asked them to sign the consent form, a necessary requirement as per the medical rules before any procedure. However, they again refused to do so and tore the form besides abusing the doctor.
The doctor alleged that around ten minutes later, a group of people who were apparently drunk, came to the clinic, manhandled the doctor and his staff due to which he got injured. He clinic was damaged as well. He performed the delivery irrespective of all of this, and stated that he went to the police station after ensuring the safe condition of both the mother and child.
He demanded action to be taken against the culprits. He further asked for police protection to prevent such incidents in the future.
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IMA too demanded that the DGP should properly look into the incident and immediately arrest the people who were involved in the attack.
The Association expressed its disappointment over such incidents of assault that has been taking place in the state off late, and the inaction of police in spite of laws protecting the healthcare professionals such as, the Bihar Clinical Establishment and Personal Safety act, 2011 and the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Act, 2020 that are passed for the protection of the medical professionals and their properties.
IMA said that such incidents pose a grave danger to the health institutions of the country, and urged the police to take the required action so that the healthcare system of India, especially in the times of Covid-19, would not get negatively affected.
The copies of the letter were also sent to the Chief Minister, the Health Minister, the Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretaries of the Health and the Home Departments in Bihar, and the officer in charge of the Kadamkuan police station.
The letter was signed by Dr Ajay Kumar (acting president of IMA, Bihar chapter), Dr Sunil Kumar (State Secretary of IMA, Bihar chapter), and Dr Sahajanand Prasad Singh (National IMA President elect).
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