Rajkot Civil Hospital: Neurosurgeon assaulted in ICU over blood unit dispute

Rajkot: In a shocking incident of alleged violence against medical professionals, a 28-year-old resident doctor from the Neurosurgery Department at Rajkot Civil Hospital was reportedly abused and assaulted by an attendant of an accident victim while on duty in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

As per a TOI report, the accused entered the ICU after being angry over the return of an unused bottle of blood and began abusing the nursing staff. When the doctor intervened and asked him to maintain discipline, the man allegedly attacked the doctor, pushing him to the ground and threatening to kill him. As a result, the doctor suffered facial injuries in the assault.

Following the incident, resident doctors under the Junior Doctors’ Association (JDA) at PDU Medical College and Hospital became angry and launched a protest on December 31 from 6 pm. They boycotted OPD services and planned surgeries, demanding the immediate arrest of the accused, suspension of security guards and staff present during the incident, and the appointment of a new security agency.

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The next day, the police arrested the accused under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) pertaining to obstructing a public servant on duty, use of criminal force against a public servant, voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation.

The incident occurred on the night of December 28. The accused, identified as Jaydeep Chavda, was accompanying a relative of accident victim Binay Thapa, who was admitted to the hospital on December 25 with severe head injuries and had undergone surgery.

During treatment, Thapa’s relative was issued two units of blood from the hospital blood bank. One unit remained unused, and the staff asked the attendant to return it as per standard procedure so it could be used for other patients.

However, the accused allegedly entered the ICU without authorisation or a valid entry pass and demanded written confirmation from the staff. When they tried to explain the protocol, he reportedly became aggressive and started using abusive and threatening language.

At this point, the doctor intervened and asked him to maintain discipline in the ICU. Enraged, the accused allegedly assaulted the doctor, knocked him to the ground, punched him and threatened to kill him while he was on duty, as reported by Bhaskar.

By the time security personnel arrived, the doctor had already been injured, and the accused had fled. The victim has been working as a neurosurgery resident for six months and had earlier served in the general surgery department for three and a half years.

The assault triggered widespread anger among resident doctors, who staged a protest at PDU Medical College and Hospital. Their four main demands were the immediate arrest of the accused, a public apology and procession by the accused, immediate cancellation of the accused’s PMJAY (Ayushman Bharat) card, suspension of the security guards and staff present at the time of the incident, and the appointment of a new security agency.

The association also warned that if their demands were not met, they would withdraw even emergency services from January 2.

Hospital superintendent Monali Makadiya told reporters that the incident was condemnable and an inquiry committee had been constituted to investigate the matter. "Many times, patients' relatives fail to understand the nature of a doctor's work. For relatives, their admitted patient is the priority, whereas doctors are required to give precedence to critically ill patients, she said.

In a memorandum, the Rajkot chapter of the Gujarat Medical Teachers Association also urged the government and hospital administration to prioritize safety and security of doctors. They demanded the arrest of the assailant within 48 hours.

Condemning the attack on the doctor, the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) expressed strong support for the resident doctors.

In a letter to the college principal, FORDA stated, “It is extremely concerning that this incident occurred in the presence of security personnel who failed to intervene, reflecting a serious lapse in basic safety measures for healthcare workers. Resident doctors are the backbone of any teaching hospital, spending the maximum time in wards and emergency areas and therefore facing the highest risk of aggression. If such security failures are not addressed urgently, the hospital environment becomes unsafe for doctors, nurses, and patients alike, forcing resident doctors to consider withdrawal of non-emergency services.”

FORDA firmly condemned the violence and fully supported the demand for a safe and secure workplace. The association urged the authorities to ensure immediate arrest of the culprits, conduct an inquiry into the failure of on-duty security staff, and strengthen security and crowd-control measures in high-risk hospital areas.

The association also supported peaceful, symbolic protests such as wearing black badges or ribbons to express solidarity against violence, while continuing emergency and critical care services. The association said a timely and firm response from the administration would send a strong message that an attack on one doctor is an attack on the entire medical fraternity and help restore confidence among resident doctors.

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