A Madhya Pradesh doctor was filmed walking out on a patient’s family mid-argument, leading to accusations that she had refused to treat the injured patient. The incident took place at the Civil Hospital Ambah on September 16, where Dr Aarti Dandotiya was on duty.
Footage that has been widely circulated online shows some people surrounding the doctor as she sat at her table. One man, in a loud voice, asked her to check on the patient, which she apparently refused to do. Dr Dandotiya was then seen standing up and walking away as the argument escalated.
“Jaa kahan rahi ho? Oy! (Hey, where are you going?)” a person was heard saying as she walked away.
Video sparks row
According to an Indian Today report, the patient’s family later alleged that the doctor had refused treatment. However, Ambah Block Medical Officer (BMO) Pramod Sharma said that the argument ensued after the patients had already been treated.
{{/usCountry}}According to an Indian Today report, the patient’s family later alleged that the doctor had refused treatment. However, Ambah Block Medical Officer (BMO) Pramod Sharma said that the argument ensued after the patients had already been treated.
{{/usCountry}}Sharma explained that three injured people had received treatment at the hospital two days earlier from Dr Aarti Dandotiya. However, she walked away when the patients’ kin began to film her on their phones.
The video shows the doctor leaving the room instead of escalating the argument.
IPS officer backs doctor
Even as the video led to backlash against the doctor from a section of the internet claiming that she refused to treat injured people, senior IPS officer Arun Bothra voiced his support for Dr Aarti Dandotiya.
In a post shared on X, IPS officer Arun Bothra said that doctors could not be expected to work in an intimidating environment.
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“Doctor’s duty is to treat patients, not to tolerate abuse and intimidation. When attendants aggressively confront a doctor and start filming her, walking away from an escalating situation is not ego. It is self-defence,” he wrote on X.
“You cannot expect doctors to work under fear of assault and then lecture them about their duty when they try to protect themselves,” the IPS officer said.
Adding that the safety of doctors is paramount, he concluded: “Patient safety matters. But doctor’s safety is a prerequisite for that.”