NEW DELHI: With no action being taken against those who attacked a doctor while on duty, the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) of Delhi government’s Maharishi Valmiki Hospital on Tuesday announced that all essential and non-essential services, barring emergency cases, provided by its members have been withdrawn to protest against the assault.
The RDA said it protested the administration’s action of not lodging an institutional FIR against a patient and her attendant for assaulting a doctor on-duty on Saturday. The RDA formally informed the hospital Medical Superintendent about the protest through a notice.
“Since no confirmation has been made, we are left with no alternative but to withdraw resident doctors from essential services from 10 am today, for which intimation was given to you on September 26 and again on September 28,” the notice read.
“We are disheartened by the way the issue is being handled. The doctor concerned is under severe mental stress, and things may get worse for him if he doesn’t get institutional support on priority,” it said.
“Who will be responsible if something goes wrong with the resident doctor? We don’t want the patients to suffer and want to resume duties at the earliest, but not at the cost of threat to our lives, integrity, and respect towards the profession,” the RDA warned.
Meanwhile, the RDAs of Safdarjung Hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Baba Sahib Ambedkar Medical College and Hospital and GTB Hospital extended their support to the protest demanded for an institutional FIR to be lodged regarding the case.
On Saturday, Dr Rahul Jain was allegedly assaulted by a patient and her attendant when the doctor asked them to come by turn in the operation theatre and to wear masks.