SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Hyderabad: The Resident Doctors Association (RDA) at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) has strongly condemned an incident in which relatives of a patient allegedly abused and threatened a resident doctor on duty, demanding that a first investigation report (FIR) be registered immediately against those involved.
The incident occurred on Wednesday evening, September 16, when Dr K Srikanth, a junior resident in the Department of Emergency Medicine, was on duty at the Triage and intensive care unit (ICU) on the first floor, according to the RDA.
Doctor allegedly threatened over delay in procedure
According to the association, Dr Srikanth attended to a patient at bed number 50 around 2.26 pm, following which he sought a neurology consultation and advised that the patient be sent for a CT scan of the head through the NIMS extension appointment system. A Foley catheterisation was also advised.
As Dr Srikanth was attending to another emergency case, he asked the patient’s relatives to wait a few minutes for the catheterisation, and around 4.30 pm asked the technician on duty to arrange the necessary equipment.
The RDA alleged that the patient’s relatives then behaved rudely with the doctor and the duty team, using abusive and inappropriate language and questioning the doctors’ salaries, reportedly saying, “We pay from our own pockets for doctors’ salaries.” They allegedly pressured the doctor to insert the Foley catheter immediately, without regard for other emergency patients he was attending to.
The situation escalated further, with the relatives allegedly threatening Dr Srikanth directly, saying, “I will kill you, I will stab you with a knife,” and, “I will beat you even after the procedure is done.” Security personnel and the duty Resident Medical Officer (RMO) arrived at the spot after the situation went out of control, following which the individuals concerned left.
Dr Srikanth subsequently submitted a written complaint to the RMO detailing the incident.
RDA demands
The RDA has demanded that an FIR be registered immediately against the accused and that strict legal action be taken against them.
The association expressed serious concern that despite existing legal provisions for the protection of doctors and healthcare staff, such incidents were being repeated, with action on them being delayed. It said resident doctors were deeply worried by the current situation, given that a similar incident a few weeks earlier had also seen a delayed and inadequate response.
The RDA made clear that it would no longer tolerate abuse, threats or warnings of physical assault against doctors on duty.
Accordingly, the association has demanded that an FIR be registered immediately, that further legal action be initiated without delay, that full institutional and security support be extended to the affected resident doctor, that closed circuit television (CCTV) footage and other evidence relating to the incident be preserved and those involved identified and that security for resident doctors in the emergency, triage and other duty areas be strengthened.
Deadline set
The RDA has set a deadline of 8 am on September 17 for the FIR to be registered. If this is not done, it said, the association will go on strike from that time, boycotting elective and out patient department (OPD) services, while emergency medical services will continue as usual to ensure no disruption to critical patient care.
The RDA said it was taking this step to protect the safety, dignity and rights of doctors on duty.
At the time of filing this report, no FIR was filed. The doctors said they will continue their boycott on Friday, September 18, also.
SOURCE : SIASAT
