Mumbai : A super-specialty resident doctor from the plastic surgery department of Sion hospital was verbally abused and threatened by a patient’s kin on Saturday.
The continuous attacks in the hospital campus has given rise to anger among doctors as the authorities are yet to strengthen their security despite the doctors’ constant demand. Hospital sources say that Sion hospital is yet to install 140 CCTV cameras and 14 posts for security guards are still vacant.
The patient was brought to the hospital with accidental glass trauma to the forearm wherein his tendons and ulnar artery were cut and there was an immediate need for plastic surgery. However, as three doctors from the surgery team were busy with other patients, one of the junior resident doctors from the department asked the patient’s relative to take the patient to another tertiary-care hospital.
Following this, the patient’s relative got angry and started abusing the resident doctor and threatened that he would kill him. Doctors who witnessed the incident said that the person recorded a video of the resident doctor wherein he asked the name of the doctor and said that he would remember his name and come to kill him. They further added that only one security guard was present outside the department.
Since the state-wide strike of Central Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), there have been 10 such attacks on doctors. Following this, Central MARD has written a letter to Medical Education Minister Vinod Tawde over the non-fulfilment of their demands which include strengthening of security and instalment of CCTV cameras.
Dr Sagar Mundada, central MARD president, said: “We were promised that our demands will be fulfilled, however, no action has been taken and none of our demands have been met and therefore we have written a letter and have requested for a meeting to discuss our problems.”
