The Uttar Pradesh government has taken a serious note of the alleged misbehaviour by some patients with nurses in Ghaziabad and has ordered that the offenders be booked under the National Security Act (NSA). On April 1, nurses from MMG District Hospital in Ghaziabad, in a written complaint, had alleged that six patients admitted to the isolation ward had misbehaved with them.
“They (suspects) will not obey the law, neither will they accept the system as they are the enemies of humanity. Whatever they have done to the women health workers in Ghaziabad is a heinous crime. They will be booked under NSA. We will not spare them,” CM Yogi Adityanath said in a statement.
“An incident like the one in Indore, where doctors were attacked, should not happen anywhere in the state. We will take whatever action is required by law,” Yogi added.
The incident came to fore on Thursday evening after MMG Hospital’s chief medical superintendent Dr Ravinder Rana forwarded the nurses’ complaint to chief medical officer (CMO) Dr NK Gupta.
“After the incident, police security has been strengthened at health facilities and the district magistrate has also told us to put up CCTV cameras inside quarantine centres. Five of the six patients were later shifted to isolation facility as one of them tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday,” Gupta said.
Late Thursday, the police and the administration officials reached the MMG Hospital and conducted an initial inquiry. The officials later directed for the registration of an FIR against the patients who allegedly misbehaved with nurses.
{{/usCountry}}Late Thursday, the police and the administration officials reached the MMG Hospital and conducted an initial inquiry. The officials later directed for the registration of an FIR against the patients who allegedly misbehaved with nurses.
{{/usCountry}}The FIR at Kotwali police station was registered against the suspects under the IPC sections 354 (outraging modesty of woman), 294 (obscene act), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and other sections related to conduct, and negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life.
“After the medical superintendent gave a complaint to the SHO, we registered an FIR against the offenders. An investigation is on in the case,” Manish Mishra, superintendent of police (city), said.
District magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey did not respond to calls seeking his comment on the matter.
Dr Rana said nurses have approached him time and again during the past two days with verbal complaints and he finally told them to give a written one.
“Based on that, I sent a written complaint to the CMO and also marked copies to the district magistrate and senior superintendent of police. The nurses are continuing with their duties. The tests of five of the six patients shifted to isolation facility will be taken up as they spent time together instead of confining themselves to their respective beds,” Dr Rana said.
According to officials, the six were picked up by the health department after they attended different religious congregations, including one at Delhi’s Nizamuddin last month.
“They did not take medicines and kept listening to objectionable songs in the ward. They also dressed inappropriately and kept roaming around. They also demanded cigarettes from our staff,” a woman nurse said Friday.
(With inputs from Lucknow bureau)