PUDUCHERRY: Functioning of government hospitals in Puducherry were affected for about two hours following a protest by doctors, nurses and other employees on Tuesday against continued attack on hospital staff by kin.Over 500 medical staff resorted to a dharna in front of the Government general hospital here demanding an end to the attack on doctors and hospital staff, implementation of hospital and medical professionals’ security act and declaring hospitals as protected areas among other things. Outpatient service as well as in-patient service were affected badly.
The protest was sparked off as a result of the attack on Community Health Centre (CHC), Karikalampakkam, on Sunday night. According to the Medical Officer in charge, CHC Karikalampakkam, at around 5.30pm on July 14, a patient was brought dead to hospital (case of alleged hanging). The dead person belonged to Thirukanjipet area.
The casualty medical officer on duty declared him brought dead (confirmed with flat line ECG) and had kept the body in mortuary till the arrival of police hearse ambulance. Meanwhile, the relatives started getting angry with the doctors and used abusive language against them and staff on duty about the hospital staff’s inability to revive a ‘brought dead’ patient.
The relatives of the patient damaged the observation beds in the casualty. With delay in arrival of police hearse ambulance, the already agitated relatives of the patient started demanding the 108 ambulance for shifting the body. When the rules of 108 ambulance were explained to them, they hurled further abuses and started damaging hospital property.
The doors of the casualty were slammed, patient cots were thrown, ambulance rear window was broken, stones were thrown on hospital properties and the name board at the entrance was damaged. The staff on duty were helpless as the mob went berserk. The intensity of the frenzied mob decreased only after the arrival of police hearse ambulance. Meanwhile, on the complaint by the hospital administration, the police registered an FIR against the trouble makers.