Mumbai, Jan 7 (IANS) Outraged by the stabbing of two resident surgeons by an unruly patient in a Yavatmal hospital, the Association of Medical Consultants (AMC) Mumbai shot off a letter to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde seeking his immediate intervention in the matter, here on Saturday.
In the memo, AMC President Nilima Vaidya-Bhamare referred to the incident of January 5, when a mentally unstable patient pounced on two first year on-duty resident surgeons and stabbed them brutally. The patient, identified as one Suraj Thakur, was arrested soon afterwards on Thursday night.
The incident sparked a furore in medical circles across Maharashtra and the resident doctors carried out protests on Thursday night and Friday outside the hospital.
On Friday, after the Vasantrao Naik Government Medical College and Hospital authorities refused to open the gates for the agitating resident doctors, a scuffle broke out in which one security personnel was injured.
The 50-year-old AMC - with over 13,000 members - said that resident doctors are the backbone of the healthcare delivery system, and the state must take responsibility for their security.
"They cannot be expected to give service and study to be qualified health personnel under such a dangerous environment... We shall take up the matter at the Central level to put up a Central law in place," pointed out Vaidya-Bhamare in the AMC plea.
She added that for two years, the AMC has been pursuing the need to set up SOPs for police personnel in case of such violent acts in healthcare facilities.
The AMC Secretary Hemant Dugad also demanded a 'black register' of truant or violent patients and their relatives in each area to enable the healthcare authorities to "red-flag" such miscreants in future, akin to the list of habitual criminals in their jurisdiction compiled by all local police stations.
Vaidya-Bhamare sought official posters from the Police Commissioners to be prominently displayed in all hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and dispensaries warning the patients of the consequences of indulging in any violence against the medicos.
Dugad said a WhatsApp group should be created by all police stations with the details of all the medicos in different medicare facilities serving their localities for quicker assistance in case of such ruckus.
Both the AMC office-bearers said the culprits indulging in attacks on medicos must be booked immediately under the provisions of the Maharashtra Medicare Act.
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