BENGALURU: A doctor from a private hospital in Bengaluru was assaulted by the family of a patient who died of COVID-19 while on ventilator support.
According to sources, the chief consultant from medical intensive care unit*(ICU) was assualted on Satuday afternoon by relatives of a COVID patient whodied after spending 35 days on ventilator. The patient admitted had come through government quota and unfortunately didn't do well. Though the bad prognosis was communicated on a daily basis, the doctor was assaulted.
The doctor was said to be verbally abused and though a mobile phone was also thrown at him, as he was wearing a face shield it prevent him from a major injury.
The person who assaulted the doctor was apparently locked in the room and the police was called and an FIR was registered at Puttenahalli police station. "We have filed an FIR and legal action will be taken against the accused on the same," said a senior police officer.
Dr Somalaram Venkatesh, chief of Cardiology department at Aster-RV Hospital tweeted, "#violenceagainstdoctors A respected senior intensivist of a reputed tertiary hospital in Bangalore was assaulted today by relatives of patient who succumbed to Covid." This doctor has worked relentlessly through both waves of the pandemic while looking after Covid patients and saving many lives.
Meanwhile such incidents of assualts have been frequently happening and it is alleged that the government has not done anything regarding it. Two years there was an assualt on a doctor working for Minto Eye Hospital after which many resident doctors protested for days to provide security to the doctors and even wore black bands as a mark of protest.
Recently the Karnataka Association Of Resident Doctors wrote a letter to chief minister BS Yediyurappa, where they highlighted about 12 cases of assault on doctors in the past 8-10 months which have gone unnoticed and unregistered. They demanded the formation of a State Level Legal Cell to fight such cases of assault on healthcare workers.
Recently a paediatric doctor was grievously injured in an attack by four men in Chikkamagaluru on May 31 in Tarikere.