Viral video: Safdarjung Resident doctor abused by IPS officer, Doctors demand apology
New Delhi: There was a major standoff between doctors and police officials recently at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital after a resident doctor was allegedly bullied and verbally abused by a senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. The video of the incident soon went viral on social media with doctors demanding a full stop on VIP culture.
The incident took place on Sunday over the treatment of the bureaucrat's wife, who was admitted to the hospital. Soon, the CCTV footage and audio file of the communication went viral on social media.
Protesting the IPS officer's attitude, the resident doctors called for a temporary halt in operations in the emergency ward and demanded an apology from the officer concerned.
While there has not been any official apology yet, Dr. Ayush Raj, General Secretary of RDA, Safdarjung Hospital, informed Medical Dialogues that a complaint has been filed in this regard before the Home Ministry.
The officer's wife was admitted as a patient on the 7th floor of the Sports Injury Centre (SIC) building of Safdarjung Hospital. Two residents from the surgery department were consulted and they allegedly wanted to examine the patient for "bleeding PR". However, they did not give consent and the doctors wanted to record the negative consent.
However, the IPS officer insisted they the doctors could not record the negative consent. Instead, they could record that because of psychiatric illness. In response, the doctor suggested having a psychiatric evaluation to record that. This led to an altercation and the bureaucrat allegedly started shouting and verbally abusing the doctor, who was recording the notes.
"Don't think that you are indispensable", "How dare you"- these were some of the phrases that the IPS officer allegedly used and the audio started circulating on social media. When the doctor requested the officer to talk politely, the bureaucrat could be heard saying "Mera ye pyar hi hai".
Services Halt Temporarily:
Condemning the incident of verbal harassment and bullying faced by the general surgery PG medical resident on duty, the Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) of VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital demanded an apology from the bureaucrat to "uphold the morale and dignity of healthcare workers".
"The concerned person, Mr. Yadav (IPS Officer), and husband of patient Mrs. Anita Roy (admitted to the seventh floor of the SIC building), engaged in behaviour that was both disgraceful and unacceptable. Such actions, particularly by a senior government official, are highly condemnable and violate the dignity of healthcare professionals who work tirelessly to serve patients. This unfortunate incident highlights the repeated challenges and harassment faced by doctors in the line of duty," the association mentioned in a release dated 25.11.2024.
The association urged the hospital administration and authorities to take the following actions:
1. Ensure accountability for the incident and prevent similar occurrences in the future.
2. Reinforce the safety and respect of healthcare professionals within the hospital premises.
Following the incident, the emergency services at the hospital came to a temporary halt for around 1.5 hours demanding an apology. However, consequently, the Additional MS of the hospital intervened and said that the patient would be discharged and requested the doctors to restart the emergency services. A meeting was held in the office of the MS and a complaint was filed to the Ministry, Dr. Ayush Raj informed Medical Dialogues.
The Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) has also extended its support to the resident doctors of Safdarjung Hospital. Issuing a Press Release yesterday, FAIMA demanded immediate action on the IPS officer along with a written apology. The association also urged the authorities to ensure accountability for the incident and prevent similar occurrences in the future and reinforce the safety and respect of healthcare professionals within the hospital premises.
Commenting on the matter, Dr. Rohan Krishnan, a Health activist and a patron to FAIMA, told Medical Dialogues, "It is unfortunate that such incidents are happening continuously. Even educated people who are holding the post of DGP and IPS, if these people act like goons, then whom should the doctors trust? whom should the doctors go to when there is any mishap in the hospital premises. VIP culture has become very prevalent in Delhi especially that it becomes very painful for doctors to work. We cannot give VIP treatment to one patient and ignore another. For us, every patient is equally important. Public mindset should change about this. If someone wants personalised attention, they should go to private hospital and private doctors. Why are they coming to government doctors and hospitals if they don't want to be treated as a citizen of this nation and nothing else?"
