GMC Srinagar PG Medico Assault: Colleagues stage Protest, demand strict action

Medical Dialogues recently reported that a third-year postgraduate resident doctor from the Medicine Department at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital was allegedly brutally assaulted by a patient's attendant following the patient's death. CCTV footage from the hospital's emergency ward, which has gone viral on social media, shows the attendant slapping the doctor inside the ward. 

Also read- Caught on camera: GMC Srinagar 3rd year PG medico slapped by patient's attendant

The incident took place on Tuesday when a patient was brought to the emergency department of GMC Srinagar by an attendant. At the time of arrival, the patient’s blood pressure and pulse were unrecordable. Despite doctors performing CPR and making every possible effort, the patient could not be revived. Later, the attendant returned to the ward and physically assaulted one of the doctors involved in the treatment.

The viral video shows the attendant entering the ward, directly approaching the doctor, and allegedly delivering a forceful slap on his face in front of patients and their attendants. The slap was so powerful that the doctor immediately fell to the ground.

In response, the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) of GMC Srinagar and its associated hospitals called for a complete shutdown of services and demanded strict action against the accused. The protesting doctors locked the hospital gates and held a sit-in outside the emergency section.

Condemning what they termed a “brutal assault,” the RDA said the incident was not just an attack on one individual but an assault on the dignity of every doctor working tirelessly under extreme pressure and hostile conditions. 

"Brutal assault on our colleague in the emergency Department of SMHS Hospital. This is not just an assault on one individual, it is an assault on the dignity of every doctor who serves this system with dedication and compassion. It is an attack on the entire medical fraternity that continues to work in suffocating conditions, round the clock, with minimal protection and zero tolerance from the public,” the RDA said in a statement.

Highlighting the daily challenges faced by doctors, the association stated that despite their dedication and sacrifices, they are often met with abuse, humiliation, and violence.

Doctors make life-saving decisions under pressure and deal with daily chaos. Despite giving our blood, sweat, and sanity to the system, we are repaid with blows, abuse, and humiliation. This violence is not acceptable, not justifiable, and will not be tolerated," the statement adds. 

Calling the situation unacceptable, the RDA demanded the immediate arrest of the accused under non-bailable charges and stronger legal protection for healthcare workers. They also pressed for the deployment of trained security personnel in critical zones like the emergency and ICU, and the strict implementation of the one-attendant policy.

“Strict enforcement of the one-attendant policy and legal action against violators is imperative. Resident doctors must be provided institutional support and legal protection if assaulted while on duty. It is tragic that while the world celebrates its doctors, in Kashmir, we are forced to fight for the basic right to work without fear of violence. We remind the administration: your silence will be seen as complicity, and your inaction will only encourage more such incidents,” the statement said.

Extending support to the protesting doctors, United Doctors Front (UDF), Jammu & Kashmir Chapter, expressed anger over the incident and called it an assault on human dignity, on the values of inclusion, and on every individual who still believes in compassion, duty, and justice. 

It demanded the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators involved in this shameful act. The UDF seeks enactment of a Doctor Protection Law in Jammu & Kashmir that makes violence against healthcare workers a non-bailable, cognizable offence.

Commenting on the matter, Dr. Mir Waseem, National Joint Secretary UDF, told Rising Kashmir, "Doctors are not soldiers in a battlefield, but they are forced every day to work in environments of threat, abuse, and fear."

“Institutional reforms to ensure all government hospitals are equipped with CCTV surveillance, security personnel, and clear zero-tolerance protocols for any violence or obstruction of medical duties,” the association said.

Standing in solidarity with the protesting doctors, the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) of GMC Jammu in a statement said, "We strongly condemn the shocking incident at SMHS Hospital Srinagar, where a resident doctor on duty was slapped by an attendant today. We stand in unwavering solidarity with our colleagues at RDA GMC Srinagar and demand strict action against the culprit."

Just a week ago, Medical Dialogues reported about a similar incident where a first-year postgraduate female junior resident doctor from the the ENT department, and a 3rd year female postgraduate medico at Government Medical College (GMC) and Hospital in Jammu, were allegedly verbally abused and brutally assaulted by a group of attendants following the death of a terminally ill patient.

Also read- Violence at GMC Jammu: 2 Female PG Medicos assaulted, kicked after patient's death, Junior doctors go on strike