400 doctors strike at AIIMS Nagpur after alleged assault on resident in ICU
Resident doctors at AIIMS Nagpur went on strike after an alleged assault by a patient's family, demanding the accused's arrest and better security.
Around 400 resident doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Nagpur went on strike after an alleged assault on a resident doctor during treatment of a patient. The Resident Doctors Association halted OPD services from Thursday morning, directly affecting patients and causing long queues at the hospital.
The doctors said they began the strike out of anger that no strict action had been taken against the accused. They have three main demands: the arrest of the accused, tighter security arrangements on the hospital premises, and an end to alleged VIP-culture preferential treatment during treatment.
The dispute centres on Ram Singh, a 66-year-old patient admitted to bed number 504 in the medicine department at AIIMS. He had been admitted to the ward a few days earlier, but his condition suddenly worsened on Monday night, requiring him to be shifted immediately to the ICU. Doctors had informed the family of the patient's critical condition at the time.
Around 1 am, the patient began having difficulty breathing, following which the family was asked for permission to put him on a ventilator. The resident doctor on duty at the time was treating the patient as advised by senior doctors.
The next morning, Tuesday, the patient's family members arrived at the ICU and began arguing with the resident doctor on duty. A professor from the medicine department and some other senior doctors were also present at the time. Doctors allege that the family members first verbally abused the resident doctor, then attacked him from behind on his back, and later grabbed his collar and knocked him to the ground. As news of the incident spread to other resident doctors, it sparked widespread anger.
According to the resident doctors, they waited until Thursday morning for the administration to take strict action against the accused, but when no satisfactory response came, around 400 doctors went on strike from 8.30 am. With the OPD shut, crowds of patients built up in several hospital departments, creating conditions of chaos.
Doctors claim that despite a non-bailable case being registered against the accused in the assault, he has still not been arrested. The resident doctors have made clear that the strike will continue until all their demands are met. It remains to be seen what further action the hospital administration and police take in the matter.
