Doctors, nurse attacked by kin of dead patient at JJ hospital

Relatives of a 50-year-old patient allegedly manhandled two senior resident doctors and a senior staff nurse of JJ Hospital at Byculla, after the patient died.

Relatives of a 50-year-old patient allegedly manhandled two senior resident doctors and a senior staff nurse of JJ Hospital at Byculla, after the patient died.

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Senior residents, Dr Preeti Gupta (24), Dr Prashant Bhan (25) and a staff nurse were allegedly assaulted by relatives of Shahid Abdul Rehman, a resident of Nagothane. Accusing the hospital of negligence, the relatives broke the glass windowpanes and damaged furniture of ward number 12.

Rehman, a chronic alcoholic having hypertension and diabetes, was taken to the hospital in an unconscious condition on Friday at 7:45am. He passed away the same day at 3:45pm.

“A postmortem report will ascertain the exact cause of death. There was no negligence by the hospital,” said a senior medical officer who did not wished to be named.

Eyewitness said that around 7:00pm a gang five boys claiming to be Rehman’s relatives and friends attacked the doctors on duty in the ward. Dr Gupta was bruised in the attack.

Dr Jeevan Rajput, former president of JJ Hospital’s resident doctors association said such incidents were rampant in the hospital premises.

“We have demanded security for our doctors for more than two years but nothing has happened so far. Anyone can enter hospital wards and physically assault us,” said Rajput.