Intern assaulted trying to protect resident doctor at Aurangabad hospital: MARD

While the cause of the assault remains unknown, the patient’s relatives entered the operation theatre (OT), dragged him out and started roughing him up. The intern was thrashed when he stepped in to resolve the issue and tried to protect the doctor...

An intern working at the Government Medical College, Aurangabad, was assaulted on Monday night by a patient’s relatives when he intervened to save a resident doctor while being manhandled, said Yashowardhan Kabra, president of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) .

Resident doctors protest on Sion hospital campus against the growing number of attacks on doctors by relatives of patients. (Kunal Patil/HT photo)

While the cause of the assault remains unknown, Kabra said the relatives entered the operation theatre (OT), dragged the doctor out and started roughing him up. It was here when the intern stepped in to resolve the issue and protect the doctor that he was thrashed. The doctor he was trying to protect had put a cast on the patient’s fractured toe.

“An intern, who tried to intervene, was beaten up. Doctors at the hospital told us that the relatives were drunk when the attack happened. Though a first information report (FIR) has been filed against the relatives, no one has been arrested till date,” said Kabra.

He added that despite growing number of attacks on doctors, there is not a single word of assurance from the government about the safety of doctors working at state-run hospitals.

Dr Suleman Merchant, dean of the Sion Hospital, said the doctors had given him a letter, explaining their decision to call for ‘mass bunking’ . “We are scared to work in hazardous conditions. We will not be able to give our services,” read the letter.

Recent assaults

March 16: A doctor and a nurse were manhandled by a mob of 22 people after a patient with swine flu died at Nashik civic hospital

March 12: A resident doctor from Dhule civil hospital was thrashed mercilessly by relatives of a patient who succumbed to the a serious head injury.