Doctors, nurses manhandled at Majuli Hospital by attendants after patient dies

Majuli: In a violent altercation that erupted at Shri Shri Pitambar Dev Goswami Civil Hospital in Majuli, doctors, nurses and medical staff of the hospital were allegedly assaulted by the relatives of a 74-year-old cancer patient who died during treatment.

The heated altercation occurred on September 22 after the family members blamed the doctors and medical staff for negligence which resulted in serious injuries. Apart from allegedly assaulting the health and medical professionals, the kin also vandalised the hospital property, and the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and damaged the equipment.

Based on the complaint of the doctors and medical staff, the police have registered a case and arrested three individuals in connection with the case. An investigation is underway.

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This comes after the 74-year-old cancer patient was brought to the hospital for treatment in a critical condition, however, he died on Sunday. When one of the medical staff went to the family to disclose his death news. The relatives allegedly reacted angrily which turned into an argument leading to a violent altercation. This led to their alleged assault and vandalism at the hospital.

"The medical team made every effort to stabilize the patient, but he passed away as they were administering saline infusion. The relatives turned violent as soon as the patient died. They attacked me, hitting me with sandals and a mobile phone, and dragged me from the ICU to the Emergency unit," an ICU technician told The Sentinel.

“They didn’t give us a chance to explain that the patient had passed away. The relatives were unwilling to cooperate and chased us, severely assaulting two of our nurses,” recounted one nurse. She further said that the in-house doctor responded immediately after hearing the news regarding the situation. However, relatives were hostile.

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