Telangana: Over 100 junior doctors boycott work after COVID patient's relatives assault colleague

After the incident, over 100 doctors at the hospital boycotted duties and staged a protest demanding the arrest of the accused. The doctors were seen carrying placards with messages like "Zero Tolerance against violence", "Save the Savior", 'we treat patients equally' written on them.

Though emergency services remained operational, regular patients experienced delays and many had to return home after waiting for a few hours. The hospital has nearly 200 doctors in total of which over 100 had joined the protests and with just 50 doctors left for a shift, regular services were affected throughout the day.

However, the doctors called off their protest after an institutional FIR was lodged in the case and promises were made to book the culprits. They also demanded tight security and an end to VIP culture.

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The case concerned a junior doctor, who was assaulted on Sunday by the attenders of a patient, who was recommended by the hospital superintendent, claimed the doctors.

Junior doctor Krishnan N was hit on the face, chest and stomach on Sunday and has complained of pain. According to police, seven persons, who were attendants of a patient admitted at the hospital, attacked the doctor. They dragged him outside the ward while he was explaining to them about the condition of the patient.

ANI reports that after examining the patient, the doctor asked his attendants if he took his Blood Pressure medicine. The kin got furious saying "It's your job, not ours and thrashed him," alleged Dr Pranay, a post graduate resident doctor at Erragada hospital.

The post graduate resident doctor's mask was allegedly torn by the attendants of the patients and he was allegedly slapped and kicked on the abdomen by the attendants of the patients in the COVID ward, said Dr Pranay while talking to ANI.

Luckily, there were other staff members present in the ward who rescued him, lifted him and brought him out of the ward, added Dr Pranay.

Angry over the assault of their colleague, dozens of doctors began a strike, leaving patients in the lurch. Though the emergency services remained operational, regular patients experienced a lot of delays and many had to return home after waiting for a few hours.

"I had come for a follow-up of my father's post Covid-19 issues. He has been suffering from breathing problems on and off. Only after we came here and waited for two hours did we get to know that there is a long queue and doctors are on protest," Rifat Bi, who had come from Mehdipatnam told TOI.

Meanwhile, referring to the various incidents where the doctors have been beaten by the patient's families, Dr Pranay said, "This has happened a lot of times, every time something like this happens we come out of protest but the issue gets diluted".

"We have been demanding security from the governments but we have not got it," he added.

While talking to ANI, Dr Pranay requested the people to please maintain their sanity when they are in the hospital as a doctor is doing everything he can and don't just come randomly and beat the doctor.

Based on a complaint, a case under section 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) read with 34 (criminal act in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered by the police and the investigation is underway.

Although a regular FIR was filed on Sunday, the doctors had demanded that an institutional FIR be lodged by the hospital so that stern punishment is handed out to the accused. "We demand that an institutional FIR be filed. The seven attendants who had assaulted the doctor yesterday were of a patient recommended by the superintendent," said Dr Naresh, a representative of Telangana Junior Doctors Association (TJUDA), Chest Hospital.

The doctors also demanded tight security at the hospital and an end to VIP culture.

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