The nodal hospital for COVID19 in Telangana, Hyderabad’s Gandhi General Hospital saw a protest staged by the junior doctors following an incident where a deceased’s attendants beat up junior doctors with furniture.
The incident took place on Tuesday around 6.30 pm after which the doctors went on to protest. The protest lasted till 3 am and then further resumed from 8 am on Wednesday. The doctors have also reportedly submitted a memorandum to the administration, health minister, and the chief minister to recruit more staff and increase the security in the hospital.
The deceased patient was 55 years old and suffered from comorbidities like hypertension and diabetes. The junior doctors have informed about the condition of the patients and had also told that there is little chance of recovery. Even after junior doctor advising the attendants and the patient to not leave the bed, the patient was found collapsed near the toilet. One of the junior doctors said,
“The patient was serious for the last two days. He was advised to stay in bed and use the CPAP machine for breathing. Going against medical advice he walked up to the toilet due to which there was a strain on his body and he collapsed and died. Two of the attendants came into the hospital breaching the security. They went inside the room and then came to the doctor’s station and beat us up with a plastic stool and iron rod.”
A representative of the Telangana Junior Doctors Association demanded an FIR to be filed against the attendants and also asked for special protection force at every ICU and all floors of the hospital.
Police Denies Assault
The deputy commissioner of the police of North Zone, Kalmeshwar Shingenavar denied any physical assault and contradicted the claims of the doctors. He said,
“No attendants are allowed inside the main block where positive patients are treated. The patient in question died in the COVID acute medical care unit (AMCU) on the third floor of the casualty block where ILI and SARI cases are admitted. More than 200 police personnel are deployed in this building. This incident happened on the spur of the moment. It was also the change of shift for police personnel at the time.”
The doctors are continuing the protests and have held placards that read “Here to Serve, Not to suffer”, “Exhausted and Understaffed”, “Why only Gandhi (hospital), Decentralised”, and “COVID19 Journey: Claps to Slaps”, etc. The demand of the doctors also includes recruiting specialist doctors, nursing and paramedic staff, ward boys, and patient care providers.
Source: The Indian Express
