Nurses demand increased security after assault at BMC hospital

The row erupted when a nurse, identified as Mohini Matere, posted in the Kurla hospital’s female medical ward on Wednesday night, objected to more than one relative sitting on a patient’s bed. Matere said she did not realise her objection would lead to the patient unleashing verbal and physical abuse

Mumbai: A day after a nurse was allegedly slapped and verbally abused by a minor patient and her relatives at civic-run Khan Bahadur Bhabha Hospital in Kurla, nurses from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation hospitals demanded increased security for them.

Nurses demand increased security after assault at BMC hospital

The row erupted when a nurse, identified as Mohini Matere, posted in the Kurla hospital’s female medical ward on Wednesday night, objected to more than one relative sitting on a patient’s bed. Matere said she did not realise her objection would lead to the patient unleashing verbal and physical abuse.

“We do not allow more than one relative with a patient. At that time, cleaning work was in progress, and it was time for nurses to dispense medicine and administer injections. Mohini asked the patient’s relative to leave,” said Madhavi Churi, a nurse.

Matere said she politely asked the relatives to follow the rules. “I had only asked them to wait outside the ward as cleaning work and medicine distribution was underway. The relatives got angry and left. Soon after this, the patient walked up to me and demanded an immediate discharge. I explained to her that she would have to take discharge against medical advice (DAMA). She took DAMA, returned to the ward with her parents and brother. They suddenly started verbally abusing me, and the patient slapped me,” said Matere.

Churi said security guards are present in ICU and emergency areas. “Altercations with patients and their relatives can happen in the ward too. What has happened to Mohini can happen to any of us if corporations do not take our safety seriously. It will be difficult for us to serve patients,” she said.

Dr Sudhakar Shinde, additional municipal commissioner, said the civic body is looking into the concerns raised by the nurses.

Ashok Khot, senior police inspector, at Kurla police station, said, “We have registered a case under section 353 (assaulting or using criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging their duty) under the Indian Penal Code. However, we didn’t arrest the accused, who is a minor and undergoing treatment in another hospital.”