On duty surgeon assaulted by Kerala police personnel after COVID patient death

The Mavelikkara police have booked the accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 43 of the Kerala Healthcare Service Persons and Healthcare Service Institutions (Prevention Of Violence And Damage To Property) Act, 2012. He is presently under quarantine and has approached the High Court for anticipatory bail in the case, reports The News Minute.

The doctor has been identified as a junior consultant surgeon. On May 14 the doctor was on night duty at the District Hospital in Mavelikara in Alappuzha when the accused rushed his mother to the facility as her health condition was deteriorating. The doctor informed that the patient party had a pulse oximeter with them but there was no reading in it. After examining the patient the doctor declared her brought dead. When the relatives were informed about it, they started behaving violently.

"My duty is from 8 am to 8 pm. But if any patient comes, we extend our service to patients as part of humanity and work ethics. On May 14, the doctor was on ward duty when a COVID patient was brought to the hospital. On examining the woman, she was declared as brought dead. On informing the relatives, they started to abuse me and the other staff on duty. Later, the son of the patient barged into my room and brutally assaulted me," the doctor told ANI.

The doctor informed that at first four people including the son of the deceased who is a police personal started verbally abusing the doctor and also destroyed the table in the hospital but they eventually left. After 3 hours, the doctor released the body of the deceased after carrying out all the tests necessary to rule out any suspicion related to the death, and the police were also informed. The condition of the patient was critical as she was bedridden and was suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, stated the doctor.

The doctor was also informed by one of the relatives that the oxygen level of the deceased was not stable and kept on dropping on earlier the day. However, they followed the advice of a nursing assistant who was their relative and only took the patient to the hospital when her situation became critical. The hospital is a triage centre that helps patients who are asymptomatic and isolating at home and not well equipped in handling critical COVID patients, reports the daily.

Shockingly the accused returned to the hospital by 7:20 am along with some accomplices and started alleging negligence on the part of the doctor. "He asked me if I was the doctor who examined his mother. He suddenly tried to strangle me, slapped me, and hit me on my back. He also verbally abused me. The person who was with him tried to provoke me saying that I can hit him if I wanted to. Their intention might have been to provoke and put me on the spot if I reacted angrily," the doctor told The News Minute.

Meanwhile, the doctors at District hospital in the Mavelikkara area of Alappuzha district, under Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) led a protest on Thursday alleging the inaction of police over an incident where a junior consultant surgeon was assaulted by a COVID patent's relative on May 14.

Subsequently, the police officer involved in the case was suspended by the Kerala Police Department.

"We are yet to arrest the accused because there is a Supreme Court order in May that people who are COVID-19 positive or those in quarantine should not be arrested and sent to jail in cases where the gravity of punishment is up to three years only. In this case, the patient was his mother and he was a primary contact," Prigi G Station House Officer of the police station told TNM.