Cross-posted on Bong Buzz

It is a matter of great shame that in the recent few weeks there has been several attacks on doctors on duty in government hospitals all over the state. In most of these cases, the junior doctors had to bear the brunt of mob fury save for a few instances where the most senior and respected professors too were not unscathed.

I am apalled, to say the least, at the irresponsibility of the media! They are ever ready to cook up sensational stories of negligence and always blaming the doctors for whatever goes wrong in the government hospitals. Is it because doctors are easy targets? The tone of the media suggests that it is alright to beat up doctors, as if it is hardly an issue! As if they need to be reminded that it is never a solution and that law exists in the country. There’s no mention of the complete police inaction, hardly it goes in print that the perpetrators of crime are never brought to book (or even if the police does arrest someone, they never frame a strong case). Lack of police action after the crime has only encouraged this dangerous trend. The police inaction can often be attributed to political pressure from local leaders to protect their supporters.

Largely owing to this permissive attitude of the political system, police inaction and a media selling sensational stories, abusing doctors seems to have become a trend and it has assumed dangerous proportions! This is getting chronic! Outsiders are getting inside the hospital premises, abusing doctors with the filthiest of languages, assaulting them & damaging government property.

There has been so many incidents of mob fury in hospitals in the recent weeks that one can easily lose count. Last Saturday, the doctor on duty and an attendant were severely beaten up at SSKM after a motorcyclist with a critical head injury succumbed to death. Only yesterday another episode of mob fury unfolded at CNMC. Some relatives of a woman stormed into the labour room to inquire about the gender of the baby. As the doctor on duty was busy with other patients, he asked the relatives to wait who lost patience and manhandled the doctor! They also tried to ransack the labour room. Few weeks ago, in NBMC one of our beloved professors was beaten up by hooligans, supposedly the relatives of an expired newborn. One of the clinicians we always look up to, Sir was left with a haematoma under his right eye!

I am about to become an intern (junior doctor) in a few months and I can only wonder. Ruffians beating up doctors in hospital premises and yet no police action! Which century are we living in? What country is this? Unless there is this minimum security to ward off outsiders, how can doctors work in govt hospitals?

Please also listen to this podcast on Bong Buzz: Save our Doctors.